The United Nations Climate Change conference is being held in the German city of Bonn. Participants are calling for focused discussions on pre-2020 actions. As one of the participants, Japan has been searching for an ideal bio-fuel. The search has taken researchers to places the public might not expect. Could that green stuff in a nearby ditch or pond be the jet-fuel of the future? CGTN's Steve Ross has answers from Tokyo.

MITSURU IZUMO PRESIDENT, EUGLENA CO. "There are so many malnourished children in developing countries."

For Mitsuru Izumo, it all started with the scientific search for an affordable super-food to feed the poor in Bangladesh, and beyond.

MITSURU IZUMO PRESIDENT, EUGLENA CO. "Euglena can produce a wide range of nutrients, and euglena can produce a huge amount of crude oil."

His search led him to "euglēna," or, in Japanese, "euglehna," micro-organisms that appear plant-like, yet move like tiny animal life. And more than just a super-food, he found a bio-fuel. As a bonus, euglena has a heavy appetite for carbon dioxide as a nutrient. Euglena's photosynthesis is now the basis for bus bio-diesel, and bio-jet fuel and more is on its way.

MITSURU IZUMO PRESIDENT, EUGLENA CO. "We've just started to construct Japan's first bio-refinery plant, in Yokohama, very close to the Tokyo Haneda International Airport."

STEVE ROSS TOKYO "In the past, the stuff inside this container has sometimes been referred to as "pond algae", but it holds multiple potentials from super-foods to bio-fuels. And that, for some, can be hard to swallow."

AKIHIKO NAGATA HEAD OF FINANCE AND CORPORATE STRATEGY, EUGLENA CO. "In Japan especially, new things or "challenging" new products are not accepted well. So we prepared a basic corporate strategy based on a third party's reputation."

For bio-jet fuel, that third party, future customer, and euglena shareholder is ANA, All Nippon Airways. And, the euglena Company's timing seems to be meshing with Japan's governmental efforts.

TAKANOBU AIKAWA, PH.D. SENIOR RESEARCHER, RENEWABLE ENERGY INSTITUTE "Toward the 2020 Olympics, the government has a bio-energy utilization initiative, and we will be expected to increase its usage in the future."

Euglena is a "third generation" biofuel. Unlike fuel made from corn or sugarcane, it doesn't compete with regular food stocks. And, unlike bio-mass fuels such as wood or palm oil, euglena is cultivated in ponds, eliminating risks to forests and peatlands. But to make purchasing decisions, clear sustainability information is needed.

TAKANOBU AIKAWA, PH.D. SENIOR RESEARCHER, RENEWABLE ENERGY INSTITUTE "The government should require a high level of sustainability detail "labeling" for consumer acceptance."

For now, euglena jet fuel prices are still sky high. But by 2025, when they are projected to reach cost parity with conventional jet fuels, sales are expected to "take off". Steve Ross CGTN Tokyo.