We have made a new investment from our currently active third fund, which focuses on deep tech, in a Japanese climate tech startup named Rhinoflux Inc. It is developing bioenergy and carbon capture plants with the mission of “unlocking the value of Earth’s vast resources through the power of science.”

The technology owned by the company has the potential to overturn conventional wisdom around biomass power generation and fundamentally redefine the role of biomass energy within the renewable energy landscape. We firmly believe Rhinoflux can be at the center of this transformation and lead the creation of a new market, which is why we decided to invest in it.

In this article, we will explain the background behind Beyond Next Ventures’ investment in the venture.

Expectations for Biomass Power Generation

Although the call for “renewable energy” has been ongoing for some time, the widespread adoption of renewable energy remains one of the most critical challenges. As of 2020, the share of renewable energy in the global power generation mix stood at approximately 28%. However, in order to achieve the 1.5°C target set by the Paris Agreement, this share must increase to around 68% by 2030 and 91% by 2050.

Biomass power generation, which utilizes universally available biological resources, is expected to become a key renewable energy source alongside solar, wind, and hydro power. Globally, biomass accounts for just under 10% of the power generation mix[1]. In Japan, there are plans to increase the share of biomass power from 2.6% in 2019 to around 5% by 2030[2].

Another major topic alongside the transition to renewables is the societal implementation of Negative Emissions Technologies (NETs). NETs are technologies that remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. No matter how much effort is made to reduce CO₂ emissions, some portion—particularly the most costly and difficult to eliminate—will likely remain. This is why NETs, which offset those residual emissions by removing CO₂ from the air, are gaining attention.

According to NEDO, in order to meet the 1.5°C target (to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C), the world must absorb at least 1–1.6 gigatons (about 1 billion tons) of CO₂ annually by 2030, and 5–7 gigatons annually by 2050[3]—an impact of enormous scale.

In this context, there is growing anticipation for BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage), which combines biomass power generation with carbon capture, as a promising form of NETs.

The logic is that the carbon in biomass fuel originally comes from the atmosphere and is absorbed by plants. Therefore, if the CO₂ emitted during power generation is captured, the process results in net negative emissions. The CO₂ reduction potential of BECCS is estimated to be 5.6 gigatons per year globally, making it one of the largest-scale NETs available.

Thus, biomass power is expected to continue playing a vital role in society. However, there is one significant issue: its high cost.

Biomass is a Difficult Fuel to Handle

There are several types of biomass power generation, but most involve burning biomass (organic matter such as plants) through some process, generating high-temperature gases that drive a turbine to produce electricity. At its core, this is the same mechanism as thermal power generation.

However, unlike fossil fuels like oil or coal, biomass contains a wide variety of organic substances and a high moisture content. As a result, the energy content per unit of mass is lower, and additional energy is required to evaporate the moisture. In short, biomass is an inefficient fuel.

Reflecting this reality, the cost of biomass power generation ranks among the highest of all power sources. The global median is about USD 120 per MWh, and in Japan, it’s said to be around 30 yen per kWh (i.e., 30,000 yen per MWh),. This is approximately 1.5 to 3 times more expensive than thermal or solar power[4][5].

In Japan, biomass power has seen some adoption thanks to the government’s Feed-in Tariff (FIT) system, which guarantees the purchase of renewable energy at fixed prices. However, once the guaranteed purchase period ends and biomass power is exposed to market prices, it quickly becomes unprofitable under current cost structures.

Moreover, if one tries to implement BECCS —as described earlier—additional costs arise from the need to concentrate and capture CO₂. Since biomass power generation is already expensive, layering on the costs of carbon capture makes the economics even more challenging. Unless substantial economic value is attributed to CO₂ removal, the business case does not hold.

This is one of the major bottlenecks preventing wider adoption of BECCS.

Rhinoflux’s Technology: Relentless Pursuit of Efficient Biomass Energy Utilization

Rhinoflux’s technology was developed by Dr. Ryuichi Ashida, a lecturer at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Engineering, as a result of his relentless pursuit of how to efficiently extract energy from hard-to-handle biomass resources. The system consists of two reaction chambers, with an aqueous solution of a mediating substance circulating in a loop between them, hence the name: “Wet Chemical Looping.”

Key Points of the Wet Chemical Looping Reaction System[6]

• Electric energy is obtained via chemical reactions, not via heat energy conversion.
• The biomass reacts within an aqueous solution.
• As a result of the biomass reacting in a liquid phase, over 99.9% pure CO₂ is naturally obtained.

Generally, thermal energy is referred to as the “graveyard of energy” or the “most depleted form of energy” due to its inefficiency and difficulty of use. By avoiding the conversion to heat energy (Point 1), Rhinoflux’s system achieves a power generation efficiency of over 50%, with a theoretical upper limit of 81%—a staggering figure compared to the 10–30% efficiency of conventional biomass power. To put this into perspective, even a 1% increase in power generation efficiency is considered a major technological breakthrough.

Comparison between traditional biomass power and chemical looping [7]

Thanks to Point 2, there is no energy loss from evaporating water, meaning even wet, low-grade biomass—which is often difficult to use—can be effectively utilized. These low-grade biomass materials, such as food waste, are often extremely inexpensive and abundant.

Point 3 brings a further advantage: CO₂ is captured naturally, without the need for additional recovery costs. In essence, this technology is a built-in BECCS system from the outset.

A Breakthrough in Cost Reduction and Profitability for Biomass Power, BECCS

It represents a dramatic reduction in the cost of both biomass power generation and BECCS, along with a significant improvement in economic viability. Traditionally, BECCS has involved costly CO₂ recovery. But with Rhinoflux’s technology, the more profitably you generate power, the more CO₂ is automatically captured in the background—a game-changing breakthrough.

Rhinoflux’s Vision and Market Entry Strategy

Rhinoflux aims to develop and commercialize biomass energy and carbon capture plants, along with their core modular units that utilize this breakthrough technology.

As the company gradually scales up its plant models, smaller-sized units are expected to be deployed first at facilities such as food and beverage factories, which often struggle to process low-grade biomass like food waste. These facilities are expected to benefit the most from early adoption of the technology.

An Ideal Executive Team Uniting Business, Engineering, and Science

CEO Mr. Mazawa, inspired by American startup culture during his time at Mitsubishi Corporation, set his sights on launching his own venture. His passion goes beyond success in Japan—he is driven by the bold vision of “building a business that can truly compete on the global stage.” With tremendous drive and logical insight, he is powerfully leading the company’s mission forward.

CSO Dr. Ashida, as previously mentioned, is the developer of the core technology behind the business and leads Rhinoflux’s foundational R&D efforts.

CTO Mr. Hagimoto, a former student of Dr. Ashida, brings extensive experience in scaling up new technologies from his time at microwave chemical. His expertise is valuable for overcoming the challenges of scale-up development—a phase where many startups struggle. His addition makes the technical team particularly robust and dependable.

CEO Mazawa said, “We were extremely particular about assembling our management team.” We are confident that this team will succeed in their mission.

Building a World-Class Energy Company from Japan

Creating a globally competitive business isn’t just talk—this team is taking on that challenge with genuine resolve. We are truly excited to work with a company so committed, and we will give them our full support as they grow into one of Japan’s leading energy innovators.

Rhinoflux is actively hiring. If you’re someone who wants to step up and contribute to the future of the planet, please check out their careers page.