It was the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” by a former vice president of the United States, Al Gore, which raised my awareness on global environmental issues and seriously made me conclude that we need to take action. As I grew older and became a parent I began to constantly think about how I could make meaningful use of “my time left” and what I could leave behind for my children.

As symbolised by the SDGs adopted at the UN Summit in 2015 and “Paris Agreement” at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) which is responsible for discussing the international agreements on greenhouse gas mitigation, an international awareness of the significant and urgent issues facing the global environment grew stronger. However, there were many companies and organisations which did not take the necessary action, excusing themselves and calling such environmental actions as “propaganda,” which triggered in me a profound sense of crisis.

Some global companies have stareted to take painful and effective action even those in the IT venture business which I am familiar with, people started to “take action”; a legendary venture capitalist and green tech evangelist, John Doerr, donated 150 billion yen to a newly establish sustainability-related department at Stanford University and Bill Gates called for the establishment of a 130 billion yen fund namedthe Breakthrough Energy.

These actions woke me up to the reality of the challenges the words faces and it was at this time I came across the microalga, Galdieria sulphuraria.

Galdieria is a red alga which inhabits hot sulphur springs and has existed for millions of years. It can survive in harsh environments such as high temperatures, high acidity, high concentrations of CO₂and in the presence of highly toxic sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxide. This microalgae can grow autotrophically in the presence of light and can grow heterotrophically with nutrients in the absence of light.

These characteristics enable large scale industrial-level cultivation at low cost.

Galdieria is able to selectively and throughly collect precious metals such as gold (Au) and palladium (Pd) from dilute metal solutions through adsorbsion to the cell surface displaying higher performance than existing technologies (ion exchange resins, activated charcoal, etc.).

In addition, the cell contentsof Galdieria include a variety of nutrients and useful substances, as is the case for the other microalgae, which can be applied to food products, cosmetics, dyes and other products.

In other words, Galdieria has the potential to contribute and provide a holistic solution to globally significant issues such as improving the efficiency of precious metal recycling at ‘urban mine’, eliminating enironmental and health risks in gold mines, overcoming food problems and reducing CO₂ emissions.

We will challenge every day for realisation of a harmonious future among people, nature and the earth by harnessing the power of a unique microalga the mother earth has given a birth to.

At the same time, we aim to create an attractive and unprecedented corporate entity where each and every one of us can develop and flourish with a sense of responsibility and professionalism in each field.