Accelerating Development of Technology for CO₂-derived Aromatic Compounds

Utilization of Carbon Dioxide Institute — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 10:00:00 +0900

September 25, 2025
Administration Office,
Utilization of Carbon Dioxide Institute Co., Ltd..
　Utilization of Carbon Dioxide Institute Co., Ltd. (UCDI) is pleased to announce a newly developed technology for generating aromatic compounds such as phenol,
4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA), catechol, and protocatechuic acid from carbon dioxide (CO₂). A patent application has been filed for this new technology as the company explores modalities for its practical application.
　Aromatic compounds are essential ingredients of widely used everyday products such as plastics, resins, pharmaceuticals, fragrances, and dyes. Most aromatic compounds are currently produced via petrochemical processes, thereby exposing them to all the downsides of adverse environmental impacts of CO₂ emissions, fluctuations in crude oil prices, and geopolitical risks. In recent years, a growing demand to establish sustainable production methods divorced from fossil resources has been driven by the pursuit of carbon neutrality.

- Technical Overview -
　UCDI® Hydrogen Bacteria have a high inherent potential to produce organic compounds from CO₂ and hydrogen. By successfully implementing the company’s proprietary enzyme catalyst technology in the Bacteria, UCDI has pioneered a biosynthetic pathway for aromatic compounds, a pathway upon which new technology for producing aromatic compounds from CO₂ will be based. With the new technology, CO2 emissions can be significantly suppressed compared to those attendant to conventional fossil resources. Moreover, the new technology offers obvious advantages over production of aromatic compounds from biomass resources where securing raw materials and logistics costs are issues. The new technology utilizes a universal resource, CO₂, and thus affords stable and sustainableproduction.
　Aromatic compounds produced by UCDI® Hydrogen Bacteria involve an innovative technology that can contribute to the sustainability of the entire chemical industry from the perspective of economic security. This new approach to both reducing environmental impact and ensuring a stable supply of resources avoids dependence on fossil or agricultural resources.

　Since its establishment in 2015, UCDI has collaborated with the public as well as private sectors to advance research on and commercialization of CO2 as a resource. Centered on its proprietary UCDI® Hydrogen Bacteria, the company’s mission calls for “using innovative biotechnology to realize CO₂ as an energy resource that contributes towards addressing food shortages and global warming.
　The company has made steady progress in research and commercialization of CO₂ resources with UCDI® Hydrogen Bacteria at the core. It continues to pursue technological innovations towards practical application of its nascent technology and strengthen efforts toward the realization of a carbon-recycling society.

Utilization of Carbon Dioxide Institute Co., Ltd.
＜Company Profile＞
Head Office/ Research Institute 14F, Tradepia Odaiba, 2-3-1 Daiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Representative Dr. Hideaki Yukawa（CEO/CSO）
Established August 12, 2015
Paid-in Capital ¥247 million
HP https://www.co2.co.jp/en/top
＜Business Fields＞
UCDI pursues research, development, and commercialization of innovative biotechnologies based on the capacity of UCDI® Hydrogen Bacteria to utilize CO₂ as a nutrient. 1 cell can multiply to 16 million individuals in 24 hours (1 gram of cells grows 16 tonnes of cell mass in 24 hours).
Within the three business fields of Protein (for human consumption), Bioenergy and SAF, and Chemicals (various chemical products), the company aims to contribute solutions that address problems of food shortage and dependence on fossil resources.

A Hub for Corynebacterium glutamicum Research

Utilization of Carbon Dioxide Institute — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 10:00:00 +0900

September 25, 2025
Administration Office,
Utilization of Carbon Dioxide Institute Co., Ltd..
Utilization of Carbon Dioxide Institute Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Dr. Hideaki Yukawa) is launching a new platform (contract research) business based on Corynebacterium glutamicum strain ATCC 13032 to run alongside its core business of CO2 utilization using hydrogen bacteria.

Dr. Yukawa developed the ingenious “growth-arrested bioprocess” using a different strain, Corynebacterium glutamicum R. Over the years, the bioprocess has demonstrated superiority over conventional fermentation methods in multiple instances.

The growth-arrested bioprocess is a totally different approach to chemical production: microbial growth is halted during the production phase. In contrast to conventional fermentations therefore, only the catalytic power of microorganisms is harnessed—much like chemical catalysts. The benefits are fascinating:

・Highly efficient production
・High tolerance to fermentation inhibitors
・Simultaneous utilization of multiple substrates

This breakthrough innovation was highly acclaimed and the basis upon which Green Earth Institute, Inc., a bio-manufacturing startup, was founded in 2011. In the same year, Dr. Yukawa was honored with a Society for Industrial Microbiology Fellow Award, one of the highest honors in applied microbiology. Since then, the concept of growth arrested bioprocess has expanded far and wide, particularly in Europe and America.

From R Strain to the Global Standard ATCC 13032

Research on the growth-arrested bioprocess with Corynebacterium glutamicum was initiated and developed using a strain with a scant record of industrial use. Concerns over bioprocess scale-up therefore worked against broader corporate interest.

The R strain and the globally much more widely utilized ATCC 13032 strain differ enough at the DNA level to result in significant structural differences. These reasons motivated a shift of focus at UCDI to ATCC 13032 strain upon which a recalibrated next-generation growth-arrested bioprocess with further enhancements in economic production was established.
Pursuing Extensive Collaboration

Through this next-generation growth-arrested bioprocess, we are opening new horizons for an industrial platform utilizing Corynebacterium glutamicum. We welcome R&D partners, both domestic and international, and call upon companies that have focused only on the R strain to date to join us in driving industrialization on a global scale.

As the “Liangshan Marsh” of Corynebacterium glutamicum research, we will actively seek to co-develop with researchers worldwide and continue our challenge to raise the profile of Japan-born technology to a global pedestal.

Utilization of Carbon Dioxide Institute Co., Ltd. (UCDI）
＜Company Profile＞
Head Office/ Research Institute 14F, Tradepia Odaiba, 2-3-1 Daiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Representative Dr. Hideaki Yukawa（CEO／CSO）
Established August 12, 2015
Paid-in Capital ¥247 million
HP https://www.co2.co.jp/en/top/

＜Business Fields＞
UCDI pursues research, development, and commercialization of innovative biotechnologies based on the capacity of UCDI® Hydrogen Bacteria to utilize CO₂ as a nutrient. 1 cell can multiply to 16 million individuals in 24 hours (1 gram of cells grows 16 tonnes of cell mass in 24 hours).
Within the three business fields of Protein (for human consumption), Bioenergy and SAF, and Chemicals (various chemical products), the company aims to contribute solutions that address problems of food shortage and dependence on fossil resources.

法人別リリース

Accelerating Development of Technology for CO₂-derived Aromatic Compounds

A Hub for Corynebacterium glutamicum Research