Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s No. 2 auto maker, is betting on plants to make its business grow. By 2020, it expects to run a $38 billion operation that makes plastics from plants — and control two-thirds of the world's supply.
“We are one of the world’s two major players in this field along with Cargill Dow,” said Kozaburo Tsukishima, general manager of Toyota’s biotechnology and forestry division. “(The biotechnology arm) could really explode as a business, and may have the biggest growth potential out of all of our operations.”
Japan’s top auto maker set up its biotechnology division in 1998. In addition to producing bioplastics, which are derived from agricultural products and natural sources such as sugar cane, corn and tapioca, the division grows flowers, rooftop gardens and produces flour using new technologies.
Apart from emitting no harmful gases when incinerated, bioplastics burn at low temperatures, requiring less fuel for disposal, Tsukishima said.
From cars to cosmetics
Toyota began using bioplastics in some new Japanese cars last year, including the Raum and Prius models, but also supplies the material to Japanese cosmetics maker Shiseido and other companies, Tsukishima said.
“Companies from all sectors have been contacting us, wanting to use bioplastics in their products,” he said. Toyota is working with some 60 companies, including office equipment makers such as Fujitsu and NEC, to supply the environmentally friendly material, he added.
“Right now we just don’t have enough supply,” Tsukishima said.
Bioplastic now costs about five times conventional, petroleum-derived plastics. But Toyota hopes to reduce costs by ramping up production. It produces a small amount of bioplastics now and plans an experimental plant this autumn.
Growth projections
“If we succeed in bringing production costs down, and clear other hurdles, we plan to build a proper plant with annual capacity of 50,000 tons, perhaps by around 2007,” he said.
Japan consumes about 14 million tons of plastic a year — a tenth of the 150 million tons produced globally. Of the Japanese total, only 10,000 tons is thought to be bioplastics.
Tsukishima expects the number to jump to 560,000 tons in Japan by 2010. By 2020, one-fifth of the world’s plastic would be biodegradable — equivalent to 30 million tons, he said. “We want to be supplying 20 million tons of bioplastics by 2020,” he added.
Toyota has more about its biotechnology plans online at: www.toyota.co.jp/en/more_than_cars/bio_afforest.
