Kazuyuki Kimura is the vice director of the Biomaterials Development Group at NIKKO CHEMICALS Materials Development Laboratory. He graduated from the University of Tsukuba in 2007 with a master's degree in biological resource science. He joined the NIKKOL GROUP in 2007 and has been involved in sustainable process development and product development. During this period, he started development of the production of the polysaccharide levan by fermentation. He has been a member of the Materials Development Laboratory since 2021, working to develop green, clean, and sustainable products and processes, including the development of levan, algae-based raw materials, and enzymatic reactions.