About

Message from the Director

The Center for Energy Systems Design (CESD) was launched in November 2022 with the aim of promoting research that contributes to the realization of a sustainable carbon-neutral society through collaboration among domestic universities and research institutes.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Various efforts are currently being made by industry, government and academia to realize a carbon-neutral society. The annual carbon dioxide emissions per person in Japan is approximately 9 tons. Reducing this to zero is a big challenge, and it is necessary to break away from dependence on fossil fuels and to change to a system based on the circulation of hydrogen and carbon, using renewable energy as their source.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Based on the international collaboration system that I²CNER has built so far, this center hopes to promote wide-ranging energy research that spans multiple fields by collaborating with domestic universities and research institutions. In addition to the creation of science and technology, the realization of carbon neutrality requires human resources to drive it. By making the center a field where young researchers can actively participate, we are planning to develop young, multidisciplinary human resources.

Director
Hiroshige　Matsumoto

Outline

The Center for Energy Systems Design (CESD) was established on November 1, 2022 as an affiliated center of the International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I²CNER).　Since its establishment on December 1, 2010 under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI), I²CNER has been engaged in basic research aimed at solving Japan and the world’s energy problems. I²CNER aims to be a cutting-edge basic research base that contributes to the realization of a carbon-neutral energy society by building an international network and realizing an international collaboration system.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Based on I²CNER’s efforts, CESD will build a system to promote research that contributes to the realization of a sustainable carbon-neutral society under the Carbon-Neutral Energy Alliance with the following research organizations.

①　Institute of Science Tokyo　InfoSyEnergy Research and Education Consortium　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　②　Hokkaido University　Institute for Catalysis　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　③　RIKEN　Center for Sustainable Resource Science　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　④　National Institute for Materials Science　Research and Services Division of Materials Data and Integrated System (MaDIS)　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　⑤　Tohoku University　Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR)　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　⑥　Kumamoto University　Institute of Industrial Nanomaterials

CESD consists of six research teams with individual missions. The four research teams of “Light energy conversion”, “Electric energy conversion”, “Material conversion”, and “Materials, Storage and Transport” are working on carbon-neutral technology that harmonizes with renewable energy, in addition to the conventional feature of “high efficiency”. We will conduct research to enable “high-speed conversion”. The “Energy Analysis” research team is responsible for the design of energy research. In other words, the energy analysis team fulfills the function of determining the targets and milestones of the research conducted by each research team by back-casting the scientific and technological performance required for social implementation. The “Data science” research team supports each research team by promoting data science, leading to discontinuous innovation.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　In each research team, mainly young PIs (assistant professors or associate professors) will work together with faculty members, researchers, and students from Kyushu University and affiliated organizations. Along with achieving innovative outcomes, we aim to develop the scientists of the future.

Organization