Joint Workshop on Sustainable Energy organized by Tokyo Tech ANNEX Aachen

The RWTH – Tokyo Tech Joint Workshop on Sustainable Energy was held on May 22 and 23, 2019 at RWTH Aachen University in Germany. A total of 15 researchers from Tokyo Tech and 14 researchers from RWTH Aachen gathered for two days to share their research and exchange ideas.

Participants approached the topic of sustainable energy from the perspectives of materials, energy systems, hydrogen energy, and sources for sustainable energy society. Presentations at the workshop covered a broad range of topics, including materials for fuel cells, materials design of all-solid-state batteries, innovation models for sustainable energy society, various hydrogen-related topics, wind power generation, new combustion engine technology, and carbon capture and storage, among others.

Approximately 80 persons attended the workshop and included not only university-affiliated researchers but also those from companies. Professor Stefan Pischinger, head of RWTH Aachen's Institute for Combustion Engines, and Dr. Osamu Watanabe, Tokyo Tech executive vice president for research, gave opening addresses.

The workshop's keynote speeches were as follows:

• The Basic Hydrogen Strategy and Future Prospect in Japan, by Institute Professor Ken Okazaki, Global Hydrogen Energy Unit, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Tech
• CO₂ Neutral Energy Supply Systems – Challenges and Opportunities, by Professor Rik W. De Doncker, E.ON Energy Research Center, RWTH Aachen University
• Future Outlook of Energy System based on Techno-Economic Study and Tokyo Tech's Energy Research Activities, by Professor Manabu Ihara, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Tech

Laboratory tours of energy-related facilities on the RWTH Aachen campus were also conducted.

The Joint Workshop was one of the first major activities of Tokyo Tech ANNEX Aachen, which was established in March 2019 at RWTH Aachen University. ANNEX Aachen plans to hold annual workshops to bring together researchers from Japan and Germany — as well as from surrounding European countries — for presentations and discussions on frontier research in science and technology.

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