derived from Euglena
Accelerate fertilizer research.

In April 2021, research farmland was established in Saga City, Saga Prefecture, aiming to research fertilizers using microalgae Euglena and to realize resource-recycling agriculture through microalgae Euglena. This farmland, named "Sustainable Tech Farm", has an area of 2,000 square meters, which is the size of about 10 tennis courts.

Until now, Euglena and Saga City have been connected through a joint research project called the "B-DASH Project (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Sewerage Innovative Technology Demonstration Project) ^*1," which started in May 2015. In this project, we have investigated and researched the possibility of effectively using CO2 generated in the process of sewage treatment and using microalgae as feed and fertilizer.
Since the sewage used is provided by the Saga City Sewage Purification Center, the research was carried out in close cooperation with Saga City. This "Sustainable Tech Farm" was established to make use of the research results to start research on resource-recycling agriculture.

※1　2015年5月13日のニュースリリース：「国土交通省が実施する下水道革新的技術実証事業（B-DASHプロジェクト）での選定について
https://www.euglena.jp/news/n20150513/

Research farmland "Sustainable Tech Farm" in Saga City

Takushi Hanashiro is the director of the Resource Circular Technology Research Institute, where the Sustainable Tech Farm is located. Hanashiro joined the company as a new graduate in April 2017, and was already assigned to the Saga base in the autumn of the same year. In 2022, his fifth year, he was appointed director.

“The first thing I worked on when I was assigned to the Saga base was research on the B-DASH Project. As I was doing research on agriculture, I had some knowledge of agriculture, and that is how I got involved in my current research.”

In his fifth year with the company, he assumed the position of director, and although he was praised by those around him for being a big promotion, Hanashiro is nothing but flat.
“Currently, there are only three researchers belonging to the Resource Circular Technology Research Institute, and it is a small facility, and I have been in Saga for a long time. We have communicated a lot and have been doing activities rooted in this land.By doing so, we have been able to secure land for our Sustainable Tech Farm and build relationships with farmers who help us with our research. I think I was able to start a new research.”

Hanashiro's main focus at the "Sustainable Tech Farm" is to study the effects on the growth of vegetables when using microalgae Euglena, chlorella, and other raw materials as fertilizers to grow vegetables. is. When vegetables grow well with this microalgae-based fertilizer, he says that he is truly blessed as a researcher.
"Of course, there are times when it doesn't make any difference, but I'm happy when I can see and feel the effect."

A wide variety of vegetables are grown as part of his research, including Japanese mustard spinach and carrots, as well as potatoes, hot peppers, and onions.
“We have a field of 2,000 square meters, so farming is hard work with only a small number of members, but when we harvest a lot of vegetables, we send them to our Tamachi office in Tokyo or sell them at Pocket Marche,” says Hanashiro. laughs.

Potatoes from the "Sustainable Tech Farm" delivered to the Tamachi office

以前より、ユーグレナ社では『バイオマスの5Ｆ』という事業戦略を推進している。この戦略は、Food（食料）、Fiber（繊維）、Feed（飼料）、Fertilizer（肥料）、Fuel（燃料）といった、バイオマスの5つの用途について、重量単価の高いものから低いものへと順次事業を展開していくことで、バイオマスの生産コスト低減とバイオマスの利用可能性の拡大を推進するというものだ。

5th floor of biomass

『サステナブルテック・ファーム』の研究は、5Ｆのうち“Fertilizer（肥料）”にあたり、新たな用途での微細藻類ユーグレナの活用が期待されている事業。社内でも注力している事業に携わることに対し、花城は静かな熱意を語る。

“The establishment of the Sustainable Euglena Farm is, of course, a positive event for research. This is just one step towards realizing our goal.In order to achieve our goal, the first step is to create a Euglena brand among agricultural materials.I think this is the first step to achieve now.
Eventually, it seems that many people will have an image that ``If you bring your waste to Euglena, you can reduce the disposal cost, and moreover, you can effectively use what was just discarded as a resource.'' Our ideal is to become

The researchers of the "Sustainable Tech Farm" are still struggling with a small number of elites today, aiming for an ideal future. I look forward to the day when my research bears fruit.

Posted January 2023