Japan expands biofuels production; jatropha plantation will yield 50 Mgy of biodiesel

In Japan, Biwako Bio-Laboratories will invest $20 million during 2008 in a 30,000 acre jatropha plantation. The company will eventually expand cultivation to 100,000 acres, and expects to produce 200,000 tonnes of jatropha oil for biodiesel production. Projected yield is more than 50 Mgy of biodiesel.

The Japanese government has set a goal of replacing 0.6 percent of gasoline fuel with biofuels by 2010. The E3 ethanol mandate recently led to the introduction of two pumps in Osaka as Japan finally begins to rollout its biofuels mandate.

In August, Mitsubishi announced plans for 500 million gallons in ethanol production capacity by 2017 as Japan ramps up on its biofuels conversion while, last week, Sojitz agreed to acquire a 33 percent stake in ETH Bioenergia for $80 million. ETH Bioenergia, a subsidiary of Oldebrecht, will produce 259 Mgy of ethanol.

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