Bio-Energy

What Bio-Energy does

Bio-Energy Co., Ltd. is a Tokyo-based environmental services company that converts food waste into renewable biogas energy through methane fermentation. The company operates the Jonan-jima Food Recycling Facility (城南島食品リサイクル施設), located within Tokyo's designated 'Super Eco Town' industrial zone in Ota-ku — described as Japan's largest food waste methane fermentation processing plant. Full operations commenced in April 2006 after the facility was completed in December 2005 and the necessary industrial and general waste disposal licenses were secured in early 2006.

The company's core technology is an end-to-end methane fermentation process that accepts food residue from food manufacturers, retailers, and restaurants; ferments it into biogas (approximately 60% methane / 40% CO2); and channels that biogas into two parallel revenue applications: (1) on-site electricity generation via an 840 kW gas engine and a 250 kW fuel cell (~1,090 kW combined capacity), with heat recovery for plant operations, and (2) purification and injection into the Tokyo Gas city gas pipeline network at approximately 800,000 m³N/year of city-gas-equivalent volume — a first-in-Japan achievement that has been in continuous operation since January 2011. The fermentation byproduct (digestate) is sold as a liquid fertilizer branded 'Tsuchi no Kyushoku' (土の給食), closing a circular-economy loop with downstream agricultural users.

Bio-Energy monetizes through four discrete revenue streams: electricity sales (including feed-in tariff), gas-supply contracts with Tokyo Gas, food-waste processing fees charged to waste generators, and digestate/liquid fertilizer sales. The company does not publicly disclose pricing, revenue, or headcount. It is a privately held subsidiary of Ichikawa Kankyo Engineering Co., Ltd. (株式会社市川環境エンジニアリング), which supplies feedstock and manages financing. Customer acquisition is event- and relationship-driven (industry trade shows, public seminars, factory tours, government recognition), and the company markets itself primarily through environmental awards, exhibitions (e.g., International Biomass Expo), and regulatory credentials rather than a sales-led motion.

Name

Bio-Energy

Legal name

バイオエナジー株式会社

Website

https://bio-energy.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Bio-Energy is a Tokyo-based environmental services company that operates Japan's largest food waste methane fermentation facility, converting food waste into renewable electricity, city-gas-equivalent biogas for Tokyo Gas pipelines, and liquid fertilizer, serving food manufacturers and retailers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Waste Recycling and Biomass Energy Generation

NAICS

Biomass Electric Power Generation (221117)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Waste-to-Energy (Organic Waste AD & Thermal) (EUACAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organics-to-Energy & CHP from Biogas (On-site Power/Heat) (EUAIAEAG), Anaerobic Digestion (Wet/Dry AD) & Biogas Production (EUAIAEAD), Digestate Processing, Nutrient Recovery & Fertilizer Products (Struvite, Ammonia, Compost) (EUAAAEAL)

Keywords

• Food waste recycling
• Biogas energy generation
• Methane fermentation processing
• Waste-to-energy services
• Biomass electricity generation

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Electricity Generation and Feed-in Tariff / Direct Sales: Biogas produced from methane fermentation is used as fuel for gas engines (840kW) and fuel cells (250kW) to generate electricity. Power is sold or used on-site, with heat from power generation recovered for plant operations. Feed-in tariff revenues or direct power sales constitute a primary revenue stream.
2. Biogas to City Gas Pipeline Sales: Purified biogas (equivalent to ~800,000 m³N/year of city gas) is injected into Tokyo Gas city gas pipeline network. This represents a unique revenue stream — the first food waste-derived biogas city gas pipeline injection in Japan. Revenue derived from gas supply contracts.
3. Food Waste Processing Fees: The company accepts food waste from food-related businesses (manufacturers, retailers, restaurants) for recycling, charging waste processing fees. This is a service-based revenue tied to waste volume received at the facility.
4. Digestate / Liquid Fertilizer Sales: Digestate byproduct from the methane fermentation process is sold as liquid fertilizer. The company supplies digestate to agricultural projects such as the Kisarazu food education initiative, creating a secondary revenue stream from agricultural byproducts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bio-Energy accepts food waste from food manufacturers, retailers, and restaurants at its Jonan-shima Food Recycling Facility in Tokyo and processes it via methane fermentation into biogas. The biogas is used on-site to generate electricity and heat, and is purified and injected into the Tokyo Gas city-gas pipeline, with the digestate byproduct sold as liquid fertilizer.

Product overview

Bio-Energy operates a single integrated food waste-to-energy platform centered on its Jonan Island Food Recycling Facility (城南島食品リサイクル施設) in Tokyo's Super Eco Town. The core system uses methane fermentation to convert food waste into biogas, which is then used for on-site gas engine power generation (840kW) and fuel cell generation (250kW) with heat recovery, and is further purified and injected into Tokyo Gas city gas pipelines. A byproduct — liquid fertilizer (digestate, branded '土の給食') — is sold for agricultural use. The company does not offer a modular software platform or add-on products; its offering is a unified industrial environmental service combining waste processing, renewable energy generation, and fertilizer production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Jonan-shima Food Waste Recycling Facility (城南島食品リサイクル施設) Methane fermentation facility located within Tokyo's "Super Eco Town" that accepts food waste from food manufacturers, retailers, and restaurants and converts it into biogas for power generation, heat recovery, and city gas pipeline injection. Described as Japan's largest food-waste methane-fermentation plant.
• Food Waste to Energy Process (生ごみからエネルギーを作るプロセス) End-to-end process converting incoming food waste into biogas and then into electricity, heat, and city-gas-equivalent gas via on-site 840kW gas engine, 250kW fuel cell co-generation, and biogas purification.
• Biogas Purification & City Gas Pipeline Injection System (バイオガス精製・都市ガス導管注入システム) Proprietary system that purifies food-waste-derived biogas (methane ~60%, CO2 ~40%) to city-gas equivalent quality and injects it into the Tokyo Gas city gas pipeline network, achieving approximately 800,000 m³N/year of city gas substitution (equivalent to ~2,000 households' annual gas use). Includes CO2 and impurity removal, calorific adjustment, and odorization.
• Digestate / Liquid Fertilizer "Soil School Lunch" (消化液・液体肥料「土の給食」) Branded liquid fertilizer produced from the digestate byproduct of the methane fermentation process and supplied to agricultural and food-education initiatives, including Kisarazu City's school lunch recycling program.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduces ~1,360 tonnes of CO2 per year through biogas to city gas pipeline injection
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (東京ガス株式会社)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 October 2009Bio-Energy and Tokyo Gas entered into a 10-year basic contract (2010–2019) for the injection and acceptance of food residue-derived biogas into Tokyo Gas's city gas pipeline network. This was Japan's first food waste-derived biogas city gas injection. Tokyo Gas manages gas quality standards, calibration, and pipeline acceptance. The partnership is a core strategic arrangement enabling Bio-Energy's unique renewable gas product.
• Ichikawa Kankyo Engineering Co., Ltd. (株式会社市川環境エンジニアリング)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 October 2009Bio-Energy is a subsidiary of Ichikawa Kankyo Engineering (parent company). Ichikawa Kankyo is responsible for securing food waste raw material supply and project management including business plan creation and financing for the biogas city gas injection demonstration project.
• New Energy Fujimino Co., Ltd. (ニューエナジーふじみ野株式会社)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBio-Energy co-presented with New Energy Fujimino at the 10th International Biomass Expo (2025), using both companies' operations as examples in a joint seminar on food waste biomass energy conversion.
• Japan Organic Resources Association / JORA (日本有機資源協会)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerBio-Energy exhibits at the International Biomass Expo under the JORA (Japan Organic Resources Association) booth. JORA organizes biomass industry seminars and events where Bio-Energy presents its food waste energy conversion technology.

Scale indicators6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• JFE Engineering Corporation: Japanese EPC contractor that designs and builds biogas, waste-to-energy, and wastewater treatment plants. Comparable as a competing supplier and project developer for organics-to-energy facilities in Japan.
• Kobelco Eco Solutions Co., Ltd. (株式会社コベルコ・エコソリューション): Engineering arm of Kobe Steel focused on wastewater and organic-waste treatment, supplying AD/biogas systems to municipalities and industrial sites. Comparable as an enabling technology provider in Japan's AD/biogas ecosystem.
• Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. Industrial conglomerate whose Environmental Equipment division provides AD/biogas plant engineering and components. Comparable as a competing builder in the Japanese biogas infrastructure market.
• Clean Energy Council (industry body) / Schmack Biogas: European biogas plant operator and EPC focused on agricultural and organic-waste AD. Comparable as a legacy player in the same AD-to-biogas-RNG technical stack that Bio-Energy uses for its Tokyo facility.
• Hitachi Zosen Inova AG: International EPC joint venture (Hitachi Zosen affiliate) specialized in anaerobic digestion, biogas upgrading, and municipal/organic waste-to-energy plants globally. Comparable as a competing AD/EPC technology vendor for renewable natural gas and biomethane projects.

Direct peers

• New Energy Fujimino Co., Ltd. (ニュエネルギーふじみの株式会社): Operates a food-waste biogas facility in Saitama Prefecture and is explicitly paired with Bio-Energy as a co-presenter at the International Biomass Expo for presentations on food-waste biomass energy conversion. Same AD-based business model targeting Japanese food manufacturers and municipalities.

Broad incumbents

• Veolia Japan K.K. (ヴェオリア・ジャパン): Japan subsidiary of the global environmental services group Veolia, operating waste management, recycling, and energy-from-waste infrastructure. Comparable to Bio-Energy as a much larger operator in Japan's food/organic waste and resource-recovery market.
• Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. Bio-Energy's 10-year strategic off-take partner and the city gas pipeline operator accepting purified biogas. Tokyo Gas is also a broader energy incumbent investing in renewable and low-carbon gases, making it a comparable large-player in the gas decarbonization space in Japan.
• Daiei Kankyo Co., Ltd. (株式会社大栄環境): Large Japanese industrial and municipal waste management company with multiple treatment facilities (including recycling and biogas recovery from organic waste). Comparable because it handles the upstream waste stream and operates overlapping organics processing capabilities in Japan.

Emerging players

• Anaergia Inc. North American/European anaerobic digestion and resource-recovery company building organic-waste-to-RNG facilities. Comparable in business model (food-waste AD producing biogas/biomethane and digestate byproducts), although geographically distant.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bio-Energy