Toyota may be well established as the hybrid car leader but it hasn’t turned its attention away from other alternative fuels.
According to a report in The Nikkei, Toyota will team up with Chuo University and Japan’s Agriculture Ministry to begin a research project with the aim to produce biofuel from the algae Pseudochoricystis. One of Toyota’s suppliers – Denso – has actually been working on biofuels derived from this form of algae for several years. The hope is to commercialise the product as a substitute for petrol and diesel by 2020.
As part of the research, attempts will be made to extract oil produced by the algae. It is hoped that mass production technology can be developed within 10 years that will allow it to be used for both car and jet fuel. If successful, it is estimated that the algae based biofuel could meet 10-20 per cent of domestic demand for diesel.
According to The Nikkei, the Agriculture Ministry had previously talked to Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation about the project. Other participants will include Microalgae Corporation and Kyoto University.
