What's MATSURI

MATSURI is the world’s first joint project where various players from multiple industries come together and share knowledge to develop an "advanced society based on algae”.

What's MATSURI

The objective of MATSURI is not only to discuss aspirations and ideals from the viewpoint of Research and Development (R&D), but also to engage in open, fact-based scientific discussions, fully utilizing the knowledge and achievements of CHITOSE GROUP gained through the years in the development of a new algae industry. By engaging diverse players into MATSURI, we aspire to broaden its influence through the realization of passionate yet realistic and practical projects.

We welcome leading companies of various industries interested in developing algae-related businesses to join us as Industry Structuring Partners and participate in discussions to build the algae industry structure (=MATSURI Working Group). These crucial discussions are at the core of MATSURI. Through these discussions, the basic structure of the future industry - including investments structure and expected return on investment (ROI) – will be decided.

Corporate Partners will be able to identify their roles and positions in the industry as they gain access to information on discussions in the MATSURI Working Group through MATSURI secretariat. Various knowledge on algae will also be provided; enabling Corporate Partners to gradually enhance their involvement in the upcoming industry.

In addition to discussions on the design of the future algae industry, MATSURI will also develop algae-derived products on a commercial scale. Outreach to the wider community about our movement will be done through dissemination of information to the public on any developments and algae-derived products launch.

As more players become involved in our movement, we will become the global pioneers in the actualization of the algae industry. This strong will and belief are the driving force of MATSURI.

Execution Structure

As we conduct the world’s most advanced R&D in the field, we will have intense discussions in the MATSURI Working Group towards the development of an execution plan for commercialization/Industrialization. We will constantly inform the public and raise awareness regarding these execution plans.

MATSURI
SECRETARIAT

SHARING/COMMUNICATING INFORMATION
Communication to society / government
Communication through events and utilization of web media
Workshops and Study Sessions
Information sharing between participants

Provide Information

Management of the MATSURI Working Group
A1:Industrial Structure Group
Discuss and identify the role of each company within the industrial structure
A2: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) / Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) Group
Discuss quantitatively environmental and economic efficiency
B1: Application Development Group
Discuss and identify the principles and development methods of final products
B2: Production Equipment Group
Discuss cutting edge algae production equipments / technologies

Provide Information

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Intellectual property / information management
Management of intellectual property resulting from each research
Research management
Plan, manage, and implement experiments, research and surveys
  • Production Research A
  • Production Research B
  • Processing Research A
  • Processing Research B
  • Processing Research C
  • Application Research A
  • Application Research B
  • Application Research C
  • Academic Survey A
  • Industry Survey A

LCA: Life Cycle Assessment /
TEA: Techno-Economic Assessment /
RA: Resources Assessment 

MATSURI's LINKAGE WITH
SUPPORTERS/COLLABORATORS

To develop evaluation criteria and industry standards, we will collaborate with the IMAT (Institute of Microalgal Technology, Japan). For the demonstration of large-scale outdoor mass cultivation, we will partner with the Sarawak Biodiversity Center and NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to realize our objectives.

Outdoor Large-Scale Culture Demonstration Project by NEDO

Chitose Research Institute carried out a project of building the world’s largest outdoor 5 ha culture demonstration project, entrusted by NEDO to develop technologies for the production of bio-jet fuel from algae. Located in close proximity to the equator in the tropics with abundance of sunlight, we will be making effective use of PhotoBioReactor (PBR) technology and exhaust gas from an existing power plant for algae production. Through this project we will collaborate with the MATSURI project in the joint research, to make improvement of the economic efficiency along with advancement of future bio-jet fuel production.

(Exhibits below): Demonstration of the world's largest algae cultivation using PBR technology and thermal power plant exhaust gas

Institute of Microalgal Technology, Japan (IMAT)

The objective is to develop procedures and necessary requirements for a more systematic and efficient R&D production of microalgae.

A test bed will be constructed enabling the acquisition of standardized data to be obtained through various tests using standard methods on biomass productivity, economics, and environmental factors.

Relevant information will be shared for the discussion on the assumptions and boundary conditions essential for standardization. Recommendations to the industry and government entities will be made in collaboration with various algae-related projects including MATSURI.

(Exhibits below) Development of standards and regulations necessary for algae R&D and industrialization. Development of test beds that enable standard testing.​
  • Selection of algae species and establishment of culture system
  • 3 Types of Basic culture system / Standardization of culture and measurement conditions
  • Standardization of Climate Conditions
  • Implementation of various downstream processes / Standardization of Methods

MESSAGES FROM THE FOUNDERS

Dr.Takanori Hoshino

Dr.Tomohiro Fujita

The “founders” here refers to the 2 passionate people who created MATSURI.

TOMOHIRO FUJITA Ph.D.

Founder and CEO, CHITOSE GROUPMember of the Bioeconomy Strategy Council, CABINET SECRETARIAT
Specially appointed Professor of Kyoto University
After graduating from the University of Tokyo (B.S. in Agriculture) and working for the consulting arm of Accenture Japan Ltd, founded the CHITOSE GROUP which has established and grown various businesses in the biotechnology field in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. He has also been leading the establishment of the global algae industry for over 10 years.

Leading the development of the algae industry for more than a decade, I realized the limitations of working as a single entity and devised a more holistic approach.

The key was to gain the involvement and commitment of multiple firms. We literally visited numerous companies, knocking on their doors to persuade the industry leaders to work together, negotiated with the government that “this is an initiative that should be tackled as a nation” and established an industry-wide project involving notable firms in Japan.

Thanks to the support from many of the people involved, we have been able to steadily grow this grand initiative. It can proudly be said that we are at the forefront of the world in this industry.

However, in creating this initiative, we have come to realize that there are three things missing in order to realize our grand goal of launching a full-fledged algae industry;

  • Creating a roadmap with clear objectives with organizations committed to implementing the initiative, rather than to just write a roadmap that consolidates the opinions of various firms.
  • Developing the industry structure on a large scale from the initial phase, rather than gradually expanding from, "High value-added products or focusing on cascade usage."
  • Gathering business members committed to "the development of the algae industry," rather than gathering only researchers to collaborate on research and development.

MATSURI was launched to rapidly promote these three things all at once.

Together with the member companies, we will launch the algae industry with determination and passion. As we take on the world's first major mission to "establish the algae industry" and spread our passion like an undulating wave among all industries, we expect more and more supporters to join the MATSURI project to become the catalyst in the rapid development of our vision.

We are confident of our success, and am looking forward to the upcoming festivities (=“MATSURI” in Japanese).

TAKANORI HOSHINO Ph.D.

Executive Officer, General Manager of Algae Utilization Group, Chitose LaboratoryAfter graduating from the University of Tokyo (B.S. in Bioenvironmental Engineering), the University of Arizona (M.S. Ph.D. in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering) and being involved in the R&D of photobioreactors with the aim to mass produce microalgae biomass as a senior researcher at the University of Arizona, he joined Chitose Laboratory in 2015. He is currently leading the projects on mass production of microalgae and application development using microalgal biomass.

Around the year 1870, gasoline was discarded as industrial waste.

While success in oil mining led to a significant increase in crude oil production from only 2,000 barrels in 1859 to 4,215,000 barrels in 1869, the usage was limited only to light lamps.

However, the situation drastically changed with the invention and development of internal combustion engines. As the usage of internal combustion engines expanded, oil production and consumption were exponentially increased in the 1900s. In 1929, annual crude and refined oil production increased to about 1 billion barrels, or about 500,000 times that of 1859.

With these changes, Standard Oil thrived. This is said to be because they had taken full advantage of the rapid increase in demand by integrating and monopolizing from upstream to downstream, namely, the oil collection pipelines, railway (transport), and refinery. The company also developed more than 300 petroleum products, including Vaseline and chewing gum. In other words, what they had done were (1) develop various applications and markets, (2) reduce costs by integrating and monopolizing processes, and (3) secure profits by establishing barriers to entry for emerging competitors.

Take this idea and replace crude oil with microalgae. Currently, the annual production of microalgae is about 20,000 tons worldwide, and it is only used for supplements and cosmetics. Imagine what would happen if this primary production technology of microalgae, which is the most efficient in the history of humankind, is (1) taken to scale, (2) applications fit for mass consumption are developed and established, and (3) the supply chain established. Just imagine what the world would look like when all this comes true.

Whether you dismiss this as a delusion or step forward and engage in it with us – it’s up to you.

Join in the excitement. Join our Matsuri to create a spectacular future for all.