After welcoming speeches by Dr Wallbrecht (German Embassy Tokyo), Mr Nakatani-san (Member of the House of Representatives Japan) and Mr Nakamura-sensei (President of Yamanashi University), the activities in the field of green hydrogen were presented from the perspective of both countries.
Dr Anna Wallbrecht, Deputy Head of the Economic and Scientific Department at the German Embassy in Tokyo, emphasised in her welcome speech:
"With your research on hydrogen, you are at the forefront of laying the foundations on which our future energy system will be built. [I am confident that the partners, the Technical University of Braunschweig and the University of Yamanashi, will achieve great things to advance research cooperation between our countries and solve the pressing issues of our time, such as energy security and the climate crisis".
In a joint presentation, the two project representatives, Prof. Dr. Mehtap Özaslan from the Technical Electrocatalysis Laboratory of the Technical University of Braunschweig and Prof. Dr. Katsuyoshi Kakinuma from the University of Yamanashi, presented the current hydrogen strategies of Japan and Germany and outlined the further development as well as the motto "Global Thinking, Local Acting" of the Japanese-German Green Hydrogen Material Laboratory. To mark the occasion, the bilingual opening certificates were unveiled.
The aim is to jointly establish a platform for material innovations in the field of green hydrogen through trusting, close and long-term cooperation in order to increase the efficiency and durability of electrocatalyst materials for electrolysis and fuel cells and to create an incubator for further projects from science and industry. In order to establish a real research presence in Japan, the Technical Electrocatalysis Laboratory at TU Braunschweig has been funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research for a total of around 760,000 euros for five years since 2022 as part of the ECatPEMFCgate funding project.
Project partner:
- Technical Electrocatalysis Laboratory, TU Braunschweig
- Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Nanomaterials Center, University of Yamanashi
- Clean Energy Research Center, University of Yamanashi
