Cell Factory Research Team

Designing and constructing optimal cell factories for valuable chemical compounds

Team Director

Akihiko Kondo Ph.D.

1988: Ph.D., Department of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University
1988: Lecturer, Kyushu Institute of Technology
1993: Assistant professor, Kyushu Institute of Technology
1995: Assistant professor, Faculty of Engineering, Kobe University
2003: Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Kobe University (-current)
2012: Team Leader, RIKEN Cell Factory Research Team,RIKEN Biomass Engineering Program
2013: Team Director, RIKEN Cell Factory Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (-current)
2020: Deputy Director, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science

Main Research Fields :	Engineering
Related Research Fields :	Chemistry / Biology
Keywords :	bioproduction / biorefinery / Synthetic bioengineering
Strategic Program :	Sustainable Bioproduction

Outline

Cost reduction of raw materials and processes is needed in order to use biomass as an alternative to fossil resources. Our team aims to integrate conventional processes, which are typically complicated and costly, into a bio-process that is innovative, consistent, less costly and energy-saving. This will be achieved by optimizing, in an integrated manner, a plant's capacity to produce and degrade cellulose and the process of microorganisms' degrading and synthesizing biomass.