Yokogawa Electric Corporation, has launched Yokogawa Bio Frontier Inc. to develop businesses related to the production and sales of innovative plant-derived biomass materials, as well as associated licensing and consulting activities. The new subsidiary officially kicked off business operations from March 22, recently.

Yokogawa Bio Frontier will focus on developing and commercializing high value-added plant-based biomass materials, such as nanocellulose and lignin monomer, which can be used to substitute chemicals and materials currently derived from fossil resources, thereby enabling a sustainable carbon cycle. The company will apply Yokogawa’s long experience in industrial automation to develop highly efficient extraction and production processes and facilities, and will market biomass materials to a wide range of customers in the chemical, food & beverage, pharmaceutical, and other industries.

The bioeconomy is considered to be an important pillar for building a sustainable society, and is one of the focus areas defined in Yokogawa’s long-term business framework. The rapidly expanding biomass materials market has been identified as a field in which Yokogawa can leverage its core technologies and global sales and service network. To obtain technologies and expertise in this field, Yokogawa has already taken steps such as investing in and partnering with AlgaEnergy, a Spanish company that is a technology leader in the production and application of microalgae, and Bloom Biorenewables SA, a Swiss startup focusing on the utilization of biomass with its highly efficient lignin extraction technology. Yokogawa Bio Frontier will work with these and other strategic partners to contribute to the development of a circular economy.