The agreement focuses on developing cultivation technology for Kagikenori, a native Japanese seaweed that claims to have significant potential to reduce methane emissions as a feed additive.
The joint research project with Kaginowa aims to cultivate methane-reducing seaweed in real marine environments, marking a significant move beyond laboratory-based research.
The research will be led by Tatsuya Matsuda, a researcher in the Fisheries Division at JIRCAS and one of the leading scientists advancing Kagikenori research in Japan.
Matsuda has previously demonstrated a method for the stable artificial production of seedlings through joint research with Nagasaki University.
His research in this area was a crucial first step for Kagikenori cultivation.
The agreement comes as the partners seek to advance production of a seaweed-derived feed ingredient designed to lower emissions from cattle.
JIRCAS is a national research and development agency under the jurisdiction of Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF).
Value for two sectors
Methane is one of the most significant greenhouse gases after carbon dioxide, and reducing livestock-derived methane emissions has become a global challenge.
Seaweed has generated global interest as a methane-reducing ingredient; however, establishing reliable and scalable production remains a major challenge for the sector.
Kagikenori has shown the potential to significantly reduce livestock-related methane emissions by inhibiting methane production in cattle when added to feed in very small quantities.
According to Kaginowa, it is pursuing a broader model that combines livestock emissions reduction with marine production.
The company is developing feed products based on Kagikenori while also promoting seaweed cultivation as a potential source of new revenue for fisheries communities.
Through the joint research, the company hopes to advance the cultivation technologies needed to support a stable supply of methane-reducing seaweed for future livestock feed applications.
In 2025, Kaginowa announced it had completed its first harvest from outdoor land-based cultivation of Kagikenori.
This was part of demonstration trials aimed at scaling production up to volumes exceeding 1,000 litres.
Collaboration details
Under the collaboration, researchers will conduct cultivation trials using artificially produced seedlings in marine environments, including Yamakawa Bay in Kagoshima Prefecture.
The work will run through March 2028.
The partners said the trials are intended to generate basic data on the growth characteristics of Kagikenori under different environmental conditions and improve understanding of how the seaweed performs in real-world cultivation settings.
Researchers will also analyse active compounds produced by cultivated seaweed and combine the findings with laboratory culture experiments.
The aim is to build knowledge on how those compounds are produced and accumulated, which could help support future commercial production systems.
The research combines JIRCAS’s expertise in seaweed science with aquaculture capabilities developed by Kaginowa, a startup that spun out of microalgae cultivation company Alnur, a Tokyo-based biotech firm specialising in microalgae mass-cultivation technology.
