200 million yen for sweet potato power generation !? One step ahead of the SDGs that "Kirishima Shuzo", the best shochu in Japan, is working on
"Kurokirishima" is a popular potato shochu nationwide that is nicknamed "Kurokiri". It was released in the 1990s when white jiuqu shochu was the mainstream, and became a mega-hit product that drove the popularity of black jiuqu shochu after that. Kirishima Shuzo, a maker of shochu in Miyazaki Prefecture that manufactures and sells, is a company that constantly challenges new things while preserving tradition . Mr. Takuzo Enatsu, the creator of Kirishima and the managing director, is a hit maker that embodies such a corporate culture. Many attempts to overturn the precedent, such as the production of black jiuqu shochu and the black label design, which was a taboo in the industry at the time of its release, were inspired by Mr. Enatsu. Subsequently, popular products such as "Aka Kirishima", "Akane Kirishima", and "Kin Kirishima" were made one after another, and Kirishima Shuzo became known throughout the country.
Kirishima Shuzo's challenge is not limited to product development, but has started an attempt to "produce electricity from sweet potatoes" and is now generating electricity for about 2,400 households. But ... why did the shochu company start generating electricity that seems to have nothing to do with shochu? Behind the scenes, Mr. Enatsu thought that "sweet potato dregs and potato scraps from sweet potatoes raised by local farmers are treasures," and he has been struggling to make the best use of the sweet potatoes that are the raw material for many years. There was a series of. We asked him how he arrived at power generation and how to handle and think about the emissions generated in the process of manufacturing by a company.
Imo jōchu can be made because of this land with many volcanoes.
Kirishima Shuzo started its power generation business in 2014 and currently produces about 8.5 million kWh of electricity annually. This is equivalent to the annual power consumption of about 2,400 households (*). Some of the generated electricity is used internally, but most of it is sold to Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc., and the annual income is about 255 million yen (FY2019 results). * When the power consumption of ordinary households is about 3600kWh per year, when I visit Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki Prefecture, where the head office is located, to find out why Kirishima Shuzo started power generation, it is about 10 minutes by car from the head office factory. I was guided to a certain "Kirishima Factory Garden".
In the Kirishima Factory Garden, there is a museum that holds academic exhibits on nature and sweet potatoes in the Kirishima area, and a tour facility for the Kirishima factory, so you can enjoy the process of making potato shochu. You can learn. As Mr. Enatsu says, "We arrived at sweet potato power generation because sweet potatoes and water, which are the main raw materials for potato shochu, are important for Kirishima Shuzo and this land." Why are sweet potatoes and water important? The roots of whether it came were a big hint in the explanation of "Shirasu Plateau" in the museum.
The area around the land of the Miyakonojo Basin, where Kirishima Shuzo is located, is an area with many volcanoes such as Sakurajima in Kagoshima. Over the years, multiple volcanoes erupted and pyroclastic flows and volcanic ash accumulated, creating a plateau called the Shirasu Plateau. The Shirasu plateau, which lacks water retention, is also a difficult land to grow crops. One of the few crops that grows in such places is sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes have long been popular as an indispensable part of growing crops and living in this area . Currently, most of the sweet potatoes used in Kirishima Shuzo are from Miyazaki and Kagoshima, and about 1,300 farmers are particular about soil preparation. By making shochu together with farmers, it is possible not only to improve quality but also to contribute to stable sales of farmers . The water used is Kirishima Rikkasui, a clean groundwater that springs from 100m underground in the Miyakonojo basin where the factory is located.
Kirishima Risui is water that has been naturally filtered over decades while the rain that fell on the Kirishima mountain range passes through the shirasu layer and volcanic ash soil, and is stored deep underground. Water, which has a softness and a refreshing feeling and is the decisive factor for the taste of Imo Shochu, is also a raw material unique to the Shirasu plateau .
If you cherish "steamed dregs", you could generate sweet potatoes.
──I saw the museum exhibition earlier, and found that sweet potatoes and water, which are indispensable for making potato shochu from Kirishima Shuzo, are the blessings of the Shirasu plateau.
Because of this land and the presence of the farmers who make sweet potatoes here, we are able to make shochu.
──So ... how did you come up with the idea of sweet potato power generation?
First of all, it was necessary to solve the problem of residue called "potato scraps" and "shojo dregs" that appeared in the manufacturing process. Due to the large amount of production, there is also a large amount of potato residue and shochu residue generated during the manufacturing process. We use 400 tons of sweet potatoes a day to make about 200,000 bottles of sweet potato. Then, about 15 tons of potato waste and about 850 tons of shochu dregs will be produced.
── So much waste ...!
About 45 years ago when I joined the company, I was moving toward incinerating shochu residue and potato scraps as waste. However, I appealed to the managers and section chiefs at that time, saying, "That shouldn't be the case, shochu dregs and potato scraps are not waste but by-products and are important treasures." Shochu dregs and potato scraps are originally sweet potatoes, and without sweet potatoes, potato shochu cannot be made. That's why I felt that I couldn't waste shochu dregs and potato scraps.
At that time, my thoughts did not reach me, and I decided to spend 100 to 200 million to build an incinerator tower. However, after that, it was found that the incineration of shochu dregs cost about one car per day at the price at that time, and as a result, the incineration process was canceled.
──It wasn't easy to handle if you burned it.
Next, in order to consider measures that make use of the abundant nutrients of shochu dregs, we used it as feed for pigs and cattle, and sprayed it on farmlands where feed was cultivated as a special fertilizer. Pigs and beef cattle have softer meat quality, dairy cows have better milk production, and feed has become lush and faster. It was effective, but I couldn't continue because of various issues. After continuing to narrow down my wisdom, I finally arrived at energy conversion. Finely chopped potato scraps and shochu dregs are sent to a fermenter, where they are fermented by the action of methane bacteria to generate gas. The obtained gas is used as a heat source for steam boilers in factories, but the excess gas that cannot be used up is used as fuel for generators to generate electricity. After repeated experiments in cooperation with a construction company, I felt the possibility, so I built a recycling plant and started a recycling business that uses shochu residue as a biomass resource in 2006. And in 2014, we started the first sweet potato power generation in Japan.
──There was a long way to go before you reached the sweet potato power generation ...!
In addition, we also utilize the residue left after extracting biogas . After methane fermentation, potato waste and shochu residue are separated into solid and liquid, and the solid is composted and returned to the field, and the liquid is purified by the action of microorganisms before being discharged to the sewer. By returning everything to the region in this way, we have achieved zero emissions (zero emissions) .
Survive a company that rethinks its own way
──I am wondering what kind of product the managing director, Enatsu, who is the creator of Kirishima, will produce next.
I'm thinking about various things in the future now. In the near future, I want to drive a car that runs on the energy of sweet potatoes (laughs).
── The future of driving a car with sweet potatoes ...! I feel that Kirishima Shuzo's efforts are one step ahead of the times when SDGs are being called out.
Our efforts were long before the term SDGs was born, and no one taught us. The SDGs are by no means difficult and confusing, and when you think about the earth, you know what to do naturally .
Humans themselves are a product of nature. What will happen to the future if the person does not think about the earth? Environmental problems have been known since the time of the First Industrial Revolution, but humans have not solved them. And in recent years, the SDGs have finally come to be shouted out loud.
──We have to deal with environmental problems that we have been pretending not to see for a long time ...
Now is the time to rethink the way the organization should be, and it is important not to lose sight of the essence of the SDGs . I think it is necessary to look back on myself once to see if we really understand the concept of SDGs, which is simply expressed by the United Nations, not limited to environmental issues. The era of saying things from the top down is over, and I think there is a need for an organizational form that allows us to exchange opinions and develop in a flat relationship . Around the beginning of next year, the world will change completely after the Korona-ka. Can you rethink your company and your own way, read the next era, or rethink your desires? That will determine whether you can become a prosperous company in the future.
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