Basic Research Programs CREST Type Creation of Innovative Technologies to Control Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Basic Research Programs CREST Type, Creation of innovative technologies to control carbon dioxide emissions
Research Themes
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[Representative in 2009]
Research themes
■Representative
Ken'ichi Ogawa
Okayama Prefectural Technology Center for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Research Institute for Biological Sciences (RIBS Okayama) Plant Redox Regulation Research Group
Director

We aim at developing an epoch-making technology for increasing the production of “carbon-neutral” bio-materials and thereby to achieve a new technology suppressing fossil-derived CO2, by means of innovatively improving CO2 assimilation and carbon transportation in plants (which are mainly soybean and Eucalyptus plants). The present level of our technology is estimated to enable 5% suppression of the total amount of annual CO2 release from Japan (if it is applied to main countries for soybean and Eucalyptus production), and 10% suppression is a target level.
■Representative
Akihiko Kondo
Kobe University
Graduate School of Engineering
Professor

Biofuel production from renewable marine-biomass would be able to overcome the limitation of land and water resource. In this project, we aim to increase starch production by more than two times in Spirulina microalgae that can grow in salt water not only by establishing the mass cultivation system but also by improving photosynthesis efficiency and metabolic capacity of the microalgae. We will develop efficient bioethanol production process from algae starch by using our core technology, cell surface engineering.
■Representative
Tsuyoshi Tanaka
Tokyo University of Agriculture & Technology
Institute of Engineering
Associate Professor
URL:http://www.tuat.ac.jp/~matunaga/indexeng.html

We propose a novel multistoried cultivation system, aimed towards the production of biodiesel using marine microalgae as a biomass resource. The introduction of our system can reduce carbon dioxide emission and will not require the use of food resources. As a candidate, a marine diatom has been selected from marine culture collection. The multistoried cultivation system will enable us to maintain a stable supply of biodiesel, which will not be affected by regional energy conditions, biomass circulation and the cost of raw materials.
■Representative
Tamotsu Hashizume
Hokkaido University
Research Center for Integrated Quantum Electronics
Professor
URL:http://www.rciqe.hokudai.ac.jp/en/index.html

We intend to establish fundamental and elemental technologies for a high-performance GaN power inverter that will act as a core device in energy saving technologies. The research includes characterization of defect-origin electronic levels in GaN-based materials and their correlation with operation instabilities of devices, development of a novel high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) based on a multi-mesa-channel structure with hetero-interface control, and design and simulation of power inverters utilizing the GaN HEMT. This will open up a key technology for a next-generation power inverter system.
■Representative
Masaru Miyayama
The University of Tokyo
Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology(RCAST)
Professor

The development of secure, low-cost energy storage devices with energy densities comparable to that of lithium-ion battery is very important to expand green technological options for suppressing CO2 emission. We investigate protonic electrochemical capacitors employing monoatomic layered electrodes to achieve markedly large capacities in aqueous electrochemical cell systems. A new mechanism of huge energy storage in these high-surface-area, monoatomic layered electrodes will be elucidated to develop science and technologies for advanced energy storage devices.