Local News

The Minamata Environmental Technocenter, a public-private partnership in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, announced it will begin trials this year to distill the biofuel ethanol from bamboo. The center says that southern Kyushu, where Minamata is located, has some of the largest bamboo groves in the country, and they are continuing to expand. This growth is damaging cropland, and that was the inspiration for the company’s idea. They’ve been conducting basic research since 2007, and think the potential for success has increased.