Takahiro Kinoshita

Making carbon materials from agricultural waste (agricultural residues) such as rice husks

Jikantechno Inc. (Jikantechno) makes carbon materials, known as high-performance carbon, from agricultural residues such as rice husks. They are highly versatile and serve as materials for things essential to our lives, such as lithium-ion batteries, cosmetics, and tires. We asked CEO Takahiro Kinoshita, who says the path from idea to practical use was one trial and error after another, about the company’s present, past, and future.

Earth-friendly manufacturing that can also save Japanese agriculture

In Japan, where rice is the staple food, about 2 million tons of rice husks are said to be produced each year. They have been used as livestock feed and fertilizer, but there have been few other uses, and the cost of disposing of them has weighed on farmers and agricultural corporations.

Our technology can turn those agricultural residues into high-quality carbon materials at a fair price. Besides rice husks, we can also use sake lees from sake brewing, malt residue from beer brewing, and cacao husks from chocolate processing as raw materials. This technology is the first in the world so far, and no company anywhere in the world can create materials of this quality.

Carbon materials include silica (silicon dioxide), which is used in cosmetics, semiconductors, and more, and carbon and graphene, which are used in the electrodes of lithium-ion batteries. These have traditionally been made from minerals such as quartz and graphite.

However, as electric vehicles (EVs) spread around the world, the mineral raw materials for their battery electrodes emit a lot of CO2 in production, and the raw materials themselves are running short. On top of that, China, the main producer, has export restrictions, making prices and the outlook uncertain.

On the other hand, Rice Silica™, a carbon material made from agricultural residues, is carbon neutral. Burning it only releases the CO2 that the plant originally absorbed through photosynthesis, so the net emissions are zero. What is more, agricultural residues, a waste product of primary industry, turn into high-value, high-quality raw materials for secondary industry, which also leads to income for farmers and agricultural corporations.

In this way, our technology is not simply low in environmental impact; it can also address the many problems the earth faces today, such as food and energy problems.

Using the heat from the manufacturing process to turn CO2 emissions from zero to negative

Jikantechno was founded in 2016. It was originally a company set up by a different founder to commercialize a patent for a battery that founder had developed. While considering using carbon as the electrode material, the founder heard that the cost of disposing of agricultural waste was weighing on farmers, and wondered whether plant-based carbon could be made from rice husks. That was how this business began.

Development began around 2018 with the cooperation of university professors and others, and I joined it. It was a challenge in which we broke the manufacturing machines again and again. We finally began to see a path to practical use, but at the time, few people showed interest.

The turning point was the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26), held in the UK in 2021. At this international conference, Japan declared that it would cut CO2 emissions by 46% from 2013 levels within the 2030s, and it also agreed on the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Against this background, the government began concretely considering carbon pricing measures, such as the full introduction of a carbon tax on companies, and companies were pressed to respond. That is when inquiries began to increase. Now global companies based overseas are also paying attention, and we are receiving many inquiries.

Recently, we have been introducing a technology that places manufacturing plants near farms and uses the heat and exhaust from the plant to reduce environmental impact while also helping vegetables grow. Greenhouses for growing vegetables are generally heated with heavy oil, but burning heavy oil not only releases CO2; lately, soaring fuel costs have also been weighing on farmers and agricultural corporations.

In the system we developed, instead of heavy oil, the waste heat from self-combustion generated in the process of making Rice Silica™ from rice husks is used to heat the greenhouse, and the exhaust is sent into the greenhouse to raise its CO2 concentration, which promotes vegetable growth.

The CO2 in the exhaust nets out to zero against the CO2 the rice absorbed through photosynthesis as it grew. And by having the vegetables absorb it, CO2 emissions end up negative. Vegetables given CO2 grow better and yield more. On top of that, fuel costs for heating the greenhouse can be reduced, and farmers can earn cash income by selling the silica produced. It is a technology that farmers are glad to have, too.

Exhibiting at Europe’s largest technology show as an LVMH Innovation Award finalist

2024 is a year of big challenges for Jikantechno. We were selected as a finalist for the French LVMH Innovation Award and will exhibit at the LVMH booth at “VIVA TECHNOLOGY 2024,” Europe’s largest technology show, held in Paris in May.

The award received applications from more than 1,500 individuals and organizations in 89 countries, and this year, for the first time, two companies from Japan were selected. LVMH is a conglomerate made up of the world’s leading luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy. The deciding factor was that several high-end cosmetics brands are paying attention to our product as a raw material for cosmetics that are gentle on both the environment and the body.

Most of the companies interested in us are large companies with a sense of crisis about carbon pricing. Companies based in EU countries in particular show strong interest, so we see this as a big business opportunity. After the show, a new program will also begin at STATION F, France’s leading startup campus. There is no doubt that business will grow from there as well. How will we turn this chance into results? We hope you will keep an eye on us.

How We Used OIH

In 2023, we took part in the OIH acceleration program “OSAP” as a company selected for its 16th cohort. The following summer, in 2024, we won in the carbon-neutral category of the “2nd HeCNOS AWARD,” and we are moving the business forward with the aim of exhibiting at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.

This is true of any program: results do not appear right after you join. But in the long run, what you gain there will surely become part of you and be useful someday. Take it on without rushing, with a big-picture perspective.