Denso to build test facility to produce biofuel from microalgae

Denso will build a large 20,000m² test facility for the culture of Pseudochoricystis ellipsoidea, an oil-producing microalgae patented by DENSO that is used to help reduce CO₂ emissions.

The new facility, set to start operations in April 2016, will be located in Amakusa, Japan and will be used to perform verification tests needed to establish large-scale microalgae cultivation technologies required to improve biofuel production efficiency.

Since April 2008, Denso has worked to produce biofuel extracted from Pseudochoricystis ellipsoidea microalgae, which is a fast-growing, vigorous, and easy-to-cultivate microalgae.

Until now, Denso has conducted microalga farming tests in a smaller 300m² facility located on its Zenmyo Plant site in Nishio, Japan.

Denso’s new facility will be one of the largest sites in Japan used for this kind of study.

Denso aims to have established large-scale microalga cultivation technologies by 2018.