- Daiwa House Industry will run a trial of power generation from biomethanol made from food waste, from 19 March to 26 September 2027, at its Tochigi Ninomiya Plant (Moka, Tochigi Prefecture) and at the GREEN×EXPO 2027 venue.
- About 25 kg a day of food waste from the plant’s staff canteen is turned into 1 to 2 cubic metres of biogas a day in a small unit. Methanol is then synthesised from the biogas with a photo-oxidation technique developed with Professor Kei Ohkubo of Osaka University, made into a solution containing 58% methanol, and shipped to the venue as generator fuel.
- The power goes to the group’s Village pavilion, Daiwa House Group Endless Heart Park. Together with biomethanol bought from Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (produced in Japan under a mass-balance approach), the plan is to cover all the electricity for the pavilion’s cooling-air equipment, installed as a heat measure.
- The company expects to cut about 2.7 tonnes of CO₂ over the Expo period, compared with using fossil-fuel power.
- It calls the full chain, from food-waste biogas to methanol to power, a first in Japan, based on its own survey as of the end of August 2026.
Our take
The numbers show the scale of the trial: about 25 kg of canteen food waste a day, giving 1 to 2 cubic metres of biogas. The pavilion’s cooling power will come from this home-made fuel topped up with biomethanol bought from Mitsubishi Gas Chemical. We think the main point is to run the whole chain, from making the fuel to shipping it and generating power, under real conditions for six months.
For visitors, the result arrives as cool air inside the pavilion. The pavilion’s concept is “Future Living made by wind, sun, water and greenery” (our pavilion overview), and this trial extends it to the power behind the heat measures. Yokohama’s average daily high is around 30°C in July and August. The release does not say whether the generating units will be displayed or explained inside the pavilion, or which of the three units shown in the drawings will be at the venue.
Tips for visitors
- Endless Heart Park is one of the 12 Village pavilions. Compare it with the others in our pavilion overview.
- The cooling matters most in summer. For Yokohama’s monthly temperatures, see our guide to when to go.
Our take
Daiwa House plans to run the cooling-air equipment in its group pavilion on power generated from biomethanol, part of it made from food waste. What visitors will feel is the cool air. Whether the generating equipment will be on show has not been announced.