From 'Discarding' to 'Storing,' and Finally to a 'Thermal Infrastructure Supporting Food.'
REMARE and Cultivera launch the 'Thermal Upcycle' project, utilizing waste plastic as building materials and subsequently as a heat source for agricultural greenhouses, aiming to reduce heating costs to a maximum of 1/8 compared to electricity.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 21, 2026 at 21:50
- 🔍 Collected: May 21, 2026 at 13:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 21, 2026 at 13:36 (4 min after Collected)
Thermal Upcycle Concept
REMARE Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya, Aichi; CEO: Masayuki Mase), which upcycles composite plastics, and Cultivera Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Onna, Kunigami, Okinawa; CEO: Shohei Toyonaga), which develops and deploys the patented cultivation technology 'Moisculture,' are launching a co-creation project to circulate waste plastic into a 'thermal infrastructure supporting cities and food.' In this project, REMARE regenerates composite plastics into high-value building materials (increasing the value of waste plastic-derived materials by approximately 400 times). After being used for a long time in society, the materials that have fulfilled their role are converted into RPF (Refuse Paper & Plastic Fuel) and supplied as heat to Cultivera's 'Moisculture' cultivation greenhouses. This aims to suppress heating costs to a maximum of about 1/8 compared to conventional electric heating, and a maximum of about 1/2 compared to A-fuel oil heating (both are estimate-based and will be verified at pilot farms). Both companies define this entire multi-stage circulation as 'Thermal Upcycle.'
■ Background
The composite plastics REMARE has been dealing with have been technically difficult to sort and recycle because they are a mixture of multiple resins, leaving almost no options other than incineration. On the other hand, greenhouse horticulture, which supports food production, is finding it increasingly difficult to secure stable 'heat' due to dependence on fossil fuels and the impact of climate change.
Heat escapes into the atmosphere at incinerators, while farmers' greenhouses lack heat. In the same country, one is discarded, and the other is insufficient.
■ What is 'Thermal Upcycle'?
'Thermal Upcycle' is a new resource circulation concept where waste plastics are not simply burned once as fuel, but stored in society for a long time as materials, and then converted into heat energy after fulfilling their role to circulate as infrastructure for growing food—extracting value in two stages from a single piece of waste plastic.
Why this is new:
Under its vision to 'store plastic in society' and its unique philosophy 'Lateral Recycling™,' REMARE has been regenerating incinerated composite plastics into interior building materials, furniture, fixtures, and spatial materials, transforming them into materials used long-term in society. In this project, they establish a new route to recover and dismantle the materials that have fulfilled their role, convert them into RPF, and circulate them as heat energy to support Cultivera's 'Moisculture' cultivation greenhouses.
'Moisculture' is Cultivera's unique patented cultivation technology that grows crops while controlling the humidity environment without relying on soil, and is being researched and implemented as next-generation agriculture enabling stable food production even in salt-damaged or water-restricted areas.
■ REMARE's Upcycle ── Increasing the Value of Waste Plastic Materials by About 400 Times
By utilizing its proprietary technology, REMARE regenerates 100% of composite plastic waste—which remained at about 5 yen/kg at the stage of being traded as incineration or RPF raw material—into board materials, and implements them in society as high-value products worth about 2,000 yen/kg as interior building materials, furniture, fixtures, and spatial materials. This raises the distribution value of waste plastic materials by about 400 times.
* Prerequisites for 'About 400 Times':
- Denominator: Waste plastic transaction unit price as RPF raw material: approx. 5 yen/kg (industry market price/reference value such as Plastic Journal).
- Numerator: Shipment unit price of REMARE's recycled boards: approx. 2,000 yen/kg (reference value by REMARE, varying by application and standard).
- Calculation: 2,000 yen/kg ÷ 5 yen/kg = 400 times.
* This is a reference indicator comparing selling unit prices for fuel use and building material use, and does not indicate the total amount of added value or social value.
■ Heating Cost for Greenhouses ── To a Maximum of About 1/8 Compared to Electricity
The biggest cost factor in greenhouse cultivation is the energy required for year-round heating. In this project, by utilizing RPF (solid fuel derived from waste plastic) developed by REMARE as a heat source, they aim for thermal energy costs of up to about 1/8 compared to conventional electric heating, and up to about 1/2 compared to A-fuel oil heating. This is not simply a cost reduction, but a presentation of a new resource circulation economy where discarded plastics are transformed into a heat source for food production.
* Prerequisites for 'Max approx. 1/8 (vs. electricity)' and 'Max approx. 1/2 (vs. A-fuel oil)':
- The table above is a simple comparison of fuel costs per 1MJ of heat quantity. It does not include capital investment, boiler efficiency, or maintenance costs.
- RPF unit price: Industrial RPF store price approx. 1.5-5 yen/kg, heat quantity 25MJ/kg (JIS RPF Grade A) used as reference.
REMARE Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya, Aichi; CEO: Masayuki Mase), which upcycles composite plastics, and Cultivera Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Onna, Kunigami, Okinawa; CEO: Shohei Toyonaga), which develops and deploys the patented cultivation technology 'Moisculture,' are launching a co-creation project to circulate waste plastic into a 'thermal infrastructure supporting cities and food.' In this project, REMARE regenerates composite plastics into high-value building materials (increasing the value of waste plastic-derived materials by approximately 400 times). After being used for a long time in society, the materials that have fulfilled their role are converted into RPF (Refuse Paper & Plastic Fuel) and supplied as heat to Cultivera's 'Moisculture' cultivation greenhouses. This aims to suppress heating costs to a maximum of about 1/8 compared to conventional electric heating, and a maximum of about 1/2 compared to A-fuel oil heating (both are estimate-based and will be verified at pilot farms). Both companies define this entire multi-stage circulation as 'Thermal Upcycle.'
■ Background
The composite plastics REMARE has been dealing with have been technically difficult to sort and recycle because they are a mixture of multiple resins, leaving almost no options other than incineration. On the other hand, greenhouse horticulture, which supports food production, is finding it increasingly difficult to secure stable 'heat' due to dependence on fossil fuels and the impact of climate change.
Heat escapes into the atmosphere at incinerators, while farmers' greenhouses lack heat. In the same country, one is discarded, and the other is insufficient.
■ What is 'Thermal Upcycle'?
'Thermal Upcycle' is a new resource circulation concept where waste plastics are not simply burned once as fuel, but stored in society for a long time as materials, and then converted into heat energy after fulfilling their role to circulate as infrastructure for growing food—extracting value in two stages from a single piece of waste plastic.
Why this is new:
Under its vision to 'store plastic in society' and its unique philosophy 'Lateral Recycling™,' REMARE has been regenerating incinerated composite plastics into interior building materials, furniture, fixtures, and spatial materials, transforming them into materials used long-term in society. In this project, they establish a new route to recover and dismantle the materials that have fulfilled their role, convert them into RPF, and circulate them as heat energy to support Cultivera's 'Moisculture' cultivation greenhouses.
'Moisculture' is Cultivera's unique patented cultivation technology that grows crops while controlling the humidity environment without relying on soil, and is being researched and implemented as next-generation agriculture enabling stable food production even in salt-damaged or water-restricted areas.
■ REMARE's Upcycle ── Increasing the Value of Waste Plastic Materials by About 400 Times
By utilizing its proprietary technology, REMARE regenerates 100% of composite plastic waste—which remained at about 5 yen/kg at the stage of being traded as incineration or RPF raw material—into board materials, and implements them in society as high-value products worth about 2,000 yen/kg as interior building materials, furniture, fixtures, and spatial materials. This raises the distribution value of waste plastic materials by about 400 times.
* Prerequisites for 'About 400 Times':
- Denominator: Waste plastic transaction unit price as RPF raw material: approx. 5 yen/kg (industry market price/reference value such as Plastic Journal).
- Numerator: Shipment unit price of REMARE's recycled boards: approx. 2,000 yen/kg (reference value by REMARE, varying by application and standard).
- Calculation: 2,000 yen/kg ÷ 5 yen/kg = 400 times.
* This is a reference indicator comparing selling unit prices for fuel use and building material use, and does not indicate the total amount of added value or social value.
■ Heating Cost for Greenhouses ── To a Maximum of About 1/8 Compared to Electricity
The biggest cost factor in greenhouse cultivation is the energy required for year-round heating. In this project, by utilizing RPF (solid fuel derived from waste plastic) developed by REMARE as a heat source, they aim for thermal energy costs of up to about 1/8 compared to conventional electric heating, and up to about 1/2 compared to A-fuel oil heating. This is not simply a cost reduction, but a presentation of a new resource circulation economy where discarded plastics are transformed into a heat source for food production.
* Prerequisites for 'Max approx. 1/8 (vs. electricity)' and 'Max approx. 1/2 (vs. A-fuel oil)':
- The table above is a simple comparison of fuel costs per 1MJ of heat quantity. It does not include capital investment, boiler efficiency, or maintenance costs.
- RPF unit price: Industrial RPF store price approx. 1.5-5 yen/kg, heat quantity 25MJ/kg (JIS RPF Grade A) used as reference.
FAQ
What is Thermal Upcycling?
A two-stage resource circulation model where waste plastics are used long-term as building materials and then converted to fuel to heat agricultural greenhouses.
How much does greenhouse heating cost decrease?
It can be reduced to a maximum of about 1/8 compared to electric heating, and about 1/2 compared to A-fuel oil.
Which companies partnered for this project?
REMARE, which upcycles plastics, and Cultivera, which possesses patented cultivation technology.