Daesung Group, a Korean conglomerate specializing in city gas and renewable energy solutions, has set its eyes on microbes as the sustainable energy source for the future.

“After years of efforts to seek alternative energy sources to fossil fuel, we have concluded that microorganisms have vast potential,” Daesung Group Chairman and CEO Kim Young-hoon said at the FEW Nexus International Conference on Thursday. “We have set out a vision to find solutions to (a shortage of) food, energy and water in microorganisms.”

Kim attended the conference hosted by Daesung Group to mark its 70th anniversary. FEW stands for the three critical world issues - food, energy and water - and many scholars from Korea and abroad attended the event to discuss the potential of microorganisms in solving these crises.

Not only Daesung but also leading global energy companies like Exxon Mobil have been seeking to develop alternative energy sources with microorganisms. In particular, aggressive investment has been made to turn microalgae, one type of microorganism that engages in photosynthesis like plants and converts carbon dioxide into hyodrocarbon, which reacts with oxygen to release useful energy, into a viable energy source.

Daesung Group started as Korea’s first briquette factory and has now grown to a full-fledged energy conglomerate with 20 affiliates, including Daesung Energy, a supplier of natural gas. The group’s 2016 revenue stood at 1.1 trillion won ($964.9 billion).

By Jung Wook

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