I’ve always admired people who managed to do several things at once, focus on totally different directions and still act like they believed in each and every one of them. Likewise is Toyota, which has made hybrid cars a worldwide success, and now are aiming towards pure electric cars by collaborating with Tesla Motors. Still, Toyota has another surprise in the pocket.
They now plan to team up with Chuo University and Japan’s Agriculture Ministry to produce algae biofuels from Pseudochoricystis. It’s been several years now since Denso, one of Toyota’s suppliers, had been working on algae biofuels, hoping to sell their fuel as a substitute for gasoline and diesel by 2020. Not totally, of course – only 10 to 20 percent over the next 10 years.
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, the Microalgae Corporation and Kyoto Corporation had previously been approached by the Agriculture Ministry about the project. By following several pathways, Toyota is ensuring that it would spread as many tentacles as possible in the unstable times the car industry is living.
The role of algae for energy creation is extremely exciting. The problems of biofuels (i.e. food vs. fuel debates) have long held the position of biofuels as major player in the transportation market. With the implications of next generation algae based biofuels, we can see a great return in energy output compared to other sources, as well as a step towards a better, greener, more efficient energy portfolio for this country.
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