PEO-BIO
Entering the Japanese biomass market takes more than a good machine.
Peo-Bio is a Japanese consulting engineering firm led by licensed Professional Engineers. We assess overseas biomass technology against Japanese conditions, present it to the Japanese market, and introduce distributors we have vetted ourselves.
THE GAP
Why technology stalls at the Japanese border
Equipment that runs reliably in Europe often underperforms in Japan, and the reasons are rarely in the specification sheet.
- Fuel is different. Japanese wood chips differ from European chips in moisture, particle size distribution, bark content and ash chemistry. Ash melting behaviour and clinker formation are where this usually shows up first.
- Regulation is different. Boiler and pressure vessel rules, electrical codes, fire safety and grid interconnection all follow Japanese procedures that are not equivalent to CE marking.
- Operating practice is different. Staffing levels, maintenance intervals and the operator skills a plant can assume in Japan differ from the European baseline.
- The buyer needs a Japanese counterpart. Japanese project owners and lenders expect a domestic party who can be held technically accountable.
We have supported the introduction of equipment from four European manufacturers into Japan, including Kohlbach, Floyd Bioenergy and COR.energy. In each case the work was less about translation than about establishing, in advance, what would have to change.
WHAT WE DO
Three stages, in this order
STAGE 1
Technical assessment for Japanese conditions
We recalculate heat and mass balances against Japanese fuel properties, test the fuel you would actually be running, and identify the modifications and certifications required. You get a candid answer on whether the Japanese market is worth entering before you spend on it.
STAGE 2
Market presentation and exhibition support
We support your participation in Japanese trade exhibitions, and we present partner technologies at our own booth when we exhibit. For a first look at the market this is a low-commitment way to gauge real interest without setting up a Japanese entity.
STAGE 3
Introduction to vetted Japanese distributors
We introduce distributors only after we have examined the technology ourselves. That sequence matters: the Japanese company is being offered something a Professional Engineer has already reviewed, and you are being introduced to a partner chosen for fit rather than availability.
INDEPENDENCE
Why an independent engineer
Peo-Bio was founded in 2017 by a Professional Engineer formerly with a major Japanese plant engineering contractor. Our strength is thermal engineering.
We are not a sales agent for any manufacturer. Our assessment of a technology carries no commercial interest in the answer — which is precisely why a Japanese buyer will take it seriously.
Gijutsushi is a Japanese national qualification for professional engineers. It carries a statutory duty to act in the public interest and a statutory duty of confidentiality backed by criminal penalties. Your technical information is protected from first contact, whether or not an NDA is in place — which means you can put real drawings and real operating data in front of us at the enquiry stage.
Professional Engineer Act of Japan
Article 45 (Duty of confidentiality)
A Professional Engineer or Associate Professional Engineer shall not, without due cause, disclose or misappropriate any secret learned in the course of their work. This obligation continues after the person ceases to hold the qualification.
Article 59 (Penalty)
A person who violates Article 45 is liable to imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to ¥500,000.
TRACK RECORD
Track record
- 94 assignments completed, FY2022–2025
- 68% from listed companies, major think tanks and public or specialist institutions
- Every year, at least one overseas or foreign-affiliated client
- 4 European manufacturers supported into the Japanese market — including Kohlbach, Floyd Bioenergy and COR.energy
By field, FY2022–2025: gasification power generation 31 · fuel production and drying 15 · feasibility studies, technical evaluation and expert opinion 14 · overseas technology 7 · training and lectures 4 · other technical support 23.
Representative projects include Japan’s first full-scale biomass ORC plant (Nankan, Kumamoto — 1 MWe / 6.8 MWth, as project manager from planning through commissioning) and a 1 MW wood gasification project in Tokamachi, Niigata, where we advised the owner on selecting a European small-scale CHP unit and carried out the basic engineering.
THE TEAM
The team
Four full-time engineers, plus part-time administrative staff. Qualifications held include Professional Engineer in Engineering Management, Environmental Engineering, Water Supply & Sewerage, Biotechnology and Mechanical Engineering; four Doctors of Engineering; four Certified Energy Managers; a Chief Electrical Engineer; a Registered Management Consultant.
Three of our engineers hold the Engineering Management discipline, which covers quality, schedule and risk management across an entire plant engineering project.
Kenichi Sasauchi, President — Gijutsushi (Engineering Management / Environmental Engineering), Reg. No. 87790. Awards include the Japan Institute of Energy Progress Award (2010) and Best Paper Award (2012) for biomass pyrolysis gasification, and the New Energy Award Grand Prize, METI Minister’s Award (2021).
Peo-Bio Co., Ltd.
- Established: June 2017
- Head office: 7F-A Seihokushin Bldg., 4-9-26 Kitanagasa-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0012, Japan
- Tokyo office: 10F SN Bldg., 1-4-22 Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0022, Japan
- Tel / Fax: +81-78-587-2929
OUR EQUIPMENT
We also build our own drying equipment
Where the machine a project needed did not exist, we developed it. Fuel drying is the persistent bottleneck in small-scale biomass gasification. Dried Sieve® is in service and available for supply from Japan.
- Dried Sieve® — compact continuous dryer with integrated particle-size screening. Runs on gasifier waste heat (approx. 85°C hot water), delivers chips at 10% moisture, demonstrated at over 125 kg/h.
Talk to an engineer before you commit
The first consultation is free of charge, and we are glad to help you frame the question. Anything you send us is protected under Article 45 of the Professional Engineer Act.
+81-78-587-2929
10:00–17:30 JST, Mon–Fri