Japan has been recognized as a global leader in innovation. Japanese companies investing in green innovations are thriving: Japanese manufacturers have developed transparent solar cells that double as windows and plastic that can biodegrade even in the ocean. Renewable batteries can now provide high-output power, even at night or in bad weather, and zero-net energy housing is also being developed.
The Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field, the world’s largest hydrogen-production facility, began operation in 2020 and constitutes a giant leap towards the realization of a hydrogen society.
“The biggest challenge facing humanity is to balance the natural system that we’re a part of — the Earth — with the economic system that exists on top of that,” says Naoko Ishii, Director of the Center for Global Commons at the University of Tokyo and an advisor to the government on climate-change policy. “This requires a new growth and investment strategy for the 21st century. Japan has the fundamental ability to innovate, but now the country as a whole must come together to deliver a credible net zero plan to transform the entire economy.”
The Japanese government has stipulated such efforts towards realizing an industry-wide green transformation (GX) for decarbonization to lead to economic development and growth, and upgrading social systems and infrastructure to achieve GX on the interim report. In order to shift to a society, economy and industrial structure centered on clean energy, it is anticipated that some 150 trillion yen in investment will be required via public and private partnerships over the next decade.
The key to achieving this ambitious goal is to further roll out innovative technologies, so Japan will encourage accelerated research and development toward realizing the utilization of such technologies. The Global Zero Emission Research Center (GZR), established by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in January 2020, will play a central role in that effort.
The GZR brings together numerous research projects related to the environment and energy technologies to enhance them by generating synergies among them, while leading cutting-edge research in cooperation with laboratories around the world.
Japan has enabled the production of ultra-lightweight solar panels by using a thin film made from perovskite, a new material. In addition, the GZR has been developing multi-junction (tandem) solar cells consisting of layered materials, which boast vastly better conversion efficiency than conventional cells, allowing for more power generation in a smaller space.
If those technologies are made feasible, they would facilitate installation in locations where placing conventional solar cells has traditionally posed a challenge, such as the walls of buildings or the roofs of factories or warehouses that cannot support heavy loads. Furthermore, the cells are expected to have an even wider range of usage, including being installed in vehicles and used as power sources for IoT devices such as stand-alone sensors.
By developing various technologies, the GZR is exploring further possibilities for solar cells and working to expand their adoption.
