JAPAN (News release) -- Nippon Paper Industries, Sumitomo Corporation, and Green Earth Institute have reached an agreement to establish a joint venture company, Morisora Bio Refinery LLC, which will focus on the production and sale of bioethanol and biochemicals derived from woody biomass. Establishment of the joint venture is scheduled for March 2025.

The joint venture will construct a semi-commercial plant at Nippon Paper's Iwanuma Mill in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Using sustainable forest resources from the Tohoku region, such as wood scraps from sawmills, GEI's proprietary low-carbon, cost-efficient bioethanol production process will be used to produce over 1,000 kL of bioethanol annually starting in 2027. Subsequently, with the full-scale introduction and adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF/*1) in Japan anticipated around 2030, the joint venture is targeting the operation of a commercial plant capable of producing tens of thousands of kiloliters of bioethanol and biochemicals per year.

GEI and Nippon Paper are conducting a grant and commission project under the National Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) titled "Development of the world's best-class low-carbon bioethanol production process using 100% domestic wood biorefinery" as part of the second call for the "Bio-manufacturing Revolution Promotion Project."

The bioethanol produced by the project will be a low-carbon, non-food biomass-based ethanol (E2G) made from wood chips sourced from the Tohoku region. By using locally sourced wood chips, the project will reduce CO₂ emissions during transportation. Further, the manufacturing process will utilize carbon-neutral energy derived from lignin, a component of wood biomass, significantly reducing fossil-derived CO₂ emissions and contributing to the realization of a sustainable, decarbonized society. The bioethanol will be used for SAF as well as gasoline blending, fuel cells, cosmetics and chemical feedstock.

Additionally, the project will actively explore the effective use of bio-generated CO2 and fermentation by-products. Moreover, beyond utilizing the power of forests, efforts will be made to enhance forest resources by promoting the distribution of elite tree seedlings in the Tohoku region, further contributing to decarbonization, local production for local consumption, and the sustainable circulation of domestic forest resources.