Foresight Seminar #23: Innovation in the Circular Bioeconomy
NEDO successfully hosted the 23rd Foresight Seminar, focusing on the theme “Innovation in the Circular Bioeconomy” at the leading biotech incubator facility in Bay Area, MBC BioLabs.
The seminar, "Innovation in the Circular Bioeconomy: From Waste to Fuels and Climate Solutions," featured insightful presentations and engaging discussions on the future of sustainable innovation.
Our Director General, Sosuke Tanaka, introduced Japan's recently launched policy initiative, POWERRX (Policy Package for Wide Energy and Resources Resilience through GX), highlighting the country's efforts to strengthen energy and resource resilience through green transformation.
<GX Implementation Council>
Our distinguished speakers, Douglas Crawford (Mission BioCapital & MBC BioLabs), Gabriella Dweck (Oleo), August Fern (Adapt [us] Capital), and Terry Baggett (Circularity Fuels), shared truly valuable perspectives on building innovation communities and scaling breakthrough technologies. A range of promising solutions, including converting waste biomass into cost-effective oil feedstocks, transforming biogas from dairy farms and other waste sources into sustainable aviation fuel and solving problems caused by extreme conditions with cutting-edge technology solutions.
One important takeaway was that today's environmental and resource challenges are creating unprecedented opportunities for innovation. It was inspiring to see how visionary entrepreneurs, investors, and researchers are turning these challenges into new business opportunities through cutting-edge technologies and bold collaboration.
A sincere thank you to our distinguished speakers, moderator Richard Weinberg, an amazing event producer Akemi Koda from USAsia Venture Partners, and participants for making this seminar such a meaningful and inspiring event. We look forward to continuing these important conversations and fostering collaborations that accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future.
NEDO SV Foresight Seminars: Inventing the Future: Session 23
Innovation in the Circular Bioeconomy
September 9, 2026, 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM PDT
Opening Remark：
Sosuke Tanaka, Director General, NEDO Silicon Valley
Speakers：
Douglas Crawford Ph.D., Managing Partner, Mission BioCapital; GM, MBC Biolabs
Gabriella Dweck, CEO of Oleo
Terry Baggett, Head of Business Development, Circularity Fuels
August Fern, General Partner, Adapt [us] Capital
Moderator:
Richard Weinberg, Sr. Consultant, USAsia Venture Partners
