Mazda lands microalgal HVO R&D project funding
In Japan, Mazda Motor Corporation announced that its research and development project, “Development of High-Density Microalgal Biofuel,” aimed at real-world deployment of biodiesel fuel (HVO) refined from lipids extracted from microalgae, has been selected for the FY2026 “Program to Develop and Promote the Commercialization of Energy Conservation Technologies to Realize a Decarbonized Society” of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
Under the selected project, Mazda will leverage the research findings it has accumulated to date on the microalgae-derived biofuels. Focusing on microalgae, which present minimal risk of competing with food crops or contributing to deforestation and can efficiently produce lipids in limited spaces, the Company will conduct research and development covering the entire process from cultivation through lipid extraction. Furthermore, with the cooperation of Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (Idemitsu Kosan), Mazda will study the production of biodiesel fuel using the extracted lipids as feedstock. The Company will work toward the real-world deployment of these research findings and, as one potential application, aims to begin using biodiesel fuel as factory-fill fuel for all Mazda diesel vehicles built at its plants in Japan in the early 2030s.
Category: Research
