News Release
8 October, 2016
SPREAD Co., Ltd.

Joint Research of Cultivation Technology
for Plant Factories with Glutathione
SPREAD Co., Ltd.(HQ: Kyoto, Japan; CEO: Shinji Inada; hereinafter, “SPREAD”),
JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation (HQ: Tokyo, Japan; CEO: Tsutomu Sugimori;hereinafter, “JX Nippon Oil & Energy”) and Okayama Prefectural Technology
Center for Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Research Institute for BiologicalSciences (Lab: Okayama, Japan; Director: Tomonori Shiraishi; hereinafter, “RIBS
Okayama”) have made an agreement for the joint research of cultivation
technology for plant factories using artificial lighting (hereinafter, “plant factory” or“plant factories”) with Glutathione.
Glutathione is a tripeptide, and is known for its function to promote the productionof crops through the activation of photosynthesis. However, the effects vary byduration and quantity of administration of Glutathione. The effective use of
Glutathione resulted in a successful 40% increase in productivity for the harvest of
potatoes in research by RIBS Okayama.
Joint research will be conducted to verify the optimized administration andprofitability by experiments shown below. It is expected that vegetable cultivation atplant factories will play a major role as a measure against the risk of a destabilized foodsupply due to the frequency of extreme weather conditions, such as torrential rain andintense heat waves, which have occurred in recent years and soil contamination andadverse effects on people from excessive usage of pesticides.
SPREAD and JX Nippon Oil & Energy will continue to put efforts towards overcoming
the world’s agricultural and food problems by creating innovations for sustainable
vegetable production which enables stable food production in the world without
influence of climate change.

1News Release< Description of joint research>
1. Duration

1 year from September 2016 (Planned)

2. Role of each company
RIBS Okayama

Considers the way of administration ofGlutathione (quantity and duration)

SPREAD

Generates the obtained data for the administrationof Glutathione at the plant factory

JX Nippon Oil & Energy

Analyzes

theobtaineddata,

evaluates

theprofitability and provides the know-how<Second Research ><First Research>

Based on the first research,

RIBS Okayama will monitor theSPREAD will administer

growth speed and cultivationGlutathione as a fertilizer forperiod of lettuce depending onlettuce cultivation at Kameoka

the way Glutathione isPlant run by SPREAD. JX Nippon

administered (quantity andOil & Energy will analyze theduration).

obtained data and evaluate it forthe profitability.

< Company description>
SPREAD Co., Ltd.
Establish: 5 January, 2006

Address: Kyoto Research Park #8, 90 Chudojiawata-cho,
Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto

Capital: 87.4million yen

Business activities: Plant factory operation and vegetable production

URL: http://www.spread.co.jp/en

SPREAD has managed a plant factory as the leading company to pursue sustainable
farming and overcome global agricultural issues and food problems. SPREAD currently
manages the Kameoka Plant (Kyoto, Japan) which is the largest single lettuce factory inthe country for vegetable cultivation that produces 21,000 heads of lettuce every day,and sells products under the “Vegetus” brand at 2,100 outlets across Japan.

2News Release
JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation
Establish: 10 May, 1888

Address: 1-2 Otemachi 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Capital: 139.4 billion yen (100% investment of JX Holdings, Inc.)

Business activities: Refining and marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products
Importing and selling of gas and coalSupply of electricity
Developing, manufacturing and marketing of fuel cell,solar power generation and storage batteries

URL: http://www.noe.jx-group.co.jp/english

JX Nippon Oil & Energy has sold Astaxanthin as the natural pigment for color
improvement for salmon in Europe and the USA, and is aiming to expand its healthand nutrition related businesses with its know-how of the bio-business.
<Reference>
Okayama Prefectural Technology Center for Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries,
Research Institute for Biological Sciences (Okayama Prefecture)
Establish: 1996

Address: 7549-1 Yoshikawa, Kibichuo-cho, Kaga-gun, Okayama

Research activities: Mass-producing, quality improvement and branding of
bio-materials and food resources
Development of plant preserving technologies
in the eco-friendly way
Nurturing new cultivar
ResearchandDevelopmentoffunctional

generated by microbial enzymes
URL: http://www.pref.okayama.jp/soshiki/203< Contact information >PR Division, Morita, Ando
SPREAD Co., Ltd.
E-mail : info@spread.co.jp
Tel: +81-75-326-3850

URL: http://www.spread.co.jp/en3

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