Science & Technology News from Japan - International Relations

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Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft Confédération suisse Confederazione Svizzera Confederaziun svizra Embassy of Switzerland in Japan State Secretariat for Education and Research SER Indoor Vegetable Garden Possible Through LED Array (March 18, 2009) Towada Giken Co. has introduced an LED array to help condominium dwellers whose homes lack a veranda or enough sunlight to have their own gardens. The Oheya de Saien, or In-Room Vegetable Garden, uses both red and blue light-emitting diodes and was designed under the supervision of Kagawa University. The devices combine red LEDs emitting at a wavelength of 600 nanometers with blue LEDs at 470nm to replace sunlight, allowing for flower, vegetable and herb gardens, even in small rooms. Red light reportedly promotes photosynthesis and encourages germination, while the blue causes plants to grope toward it. Solar Power Industry Tries To Cover One Third Of Global Market (March 19, 2009) Japan’s solar power industry will generate up to 10 trillion yen worth of economic benefits in 2020, if the industry manages to secure more than a third of the global market. A study panel at the ministry also estimated that the industry will create up to about 100,000 new jobs in Japan in 2020, if domestic solar cell makers achieve that market share in terms of production, up from the current 25%. Currently, the industry is creating about 12,000 jobs in Japan and 1 trillion yen worth of economic effects at home and abroad. Foreign rivals are quickly catching up with Japan, while the size of the global market more than doubled just between 2005 and 2007. Portable Compact Fuel Cells In Mass Production (March 23, 2009) Toshiba Corp. will mass-produce compact fuel cells for recharging such devices as cellular phones and notebook computers. It said to be first to turn out portable fuel cells on such a scale, is installing an assembly line at a Yokohama facility. Production levels and capital investment outlays have not been disclosed. The chargers will be powered by methanol, eliminating the need for an electrical outlet. Although production will initially focus on external fuel cells for recharging, the company plans to commercialize mobile handsets and PCs with built-in fuel cells. Ukraine Buys Environmental Technology Exclusively From Japan (March 23, 2009) Ukraine, the first foreign government to sell greenhouse gas emission rights to Japan, will use the proceeds to introduce environmental technology solely from Japan. Tymoshenko, scheduled to visit Japan, said that Ukraine choose Japan as to modernize Ukraine's Soviet-era production equipment and infrastructure. She said Ukraine and Japan could cooperate on energy-consuming heating systems, steel and chemical plants, and water services. New Portable Hydrogen-Making Fuel Cell Takasago Thermal Engineering Co. has collaborated with Daiki Ataka Engineering Co. and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology to develop a fuel cell that can make its own fuel by extracting hydrogen from water. The device is a solid-polymer fuel cell that is able to switch between a process that generates electricity from a supply of hydrogen and a process that electrolyzes water to yield oxygen and hydrogen. Toyo Seikan Kaisha Ltd. and hydrogen fuel startup Bio Coke Lab. Co. have developed a small hydrogen generator that can operate without the need for propane, kerosene or any other kind of fuel. (March 23, 2009) Less-Expensive And More Powerful Lithium-Ion Batteries (March 23, 2009) Furukawa Battery Co. is developing a less-expensive lithium-ion battery for industrial machinery and Toshiba Corp. had developed a powerful and safer lithium-ion battery for hybrid cars. The Furukawa lithium-ion batteries are costcompetitive with nickel-hydrogen batteries. Using a technology developed by Prof. Kiyoshi Kanamura and colleagues at Tokyo Metropolitan University, Furukawa Battery designed an electrode material that can perform at the same level as cobalt. Toshiba uses proprietary technologies to finely process the electrode materials, lower resistance and ease the migration of lithium ions so the batteries can operate with high power output. R&D Efforts In Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (March 24, 2009) Sharp Corp. has been stepping up R&D efforts on dye-sensitized solar cells, counting on the potential of the nextgeneration model to significantly slash its manufacturing costs and help maintain its lead in the fiercely competitive market. Study of the cutting-edge solar cells has been conducted at Sharp's Advanced Energy Technologies Laboratories. Prototype cells with high photoelectric conversion rates are mostly in dark greens and they also have fewer color irregularities. Sharp in 2008 succeeded in attaining a conversion rate of 8.2% with a 25-sq.-cm glass substrate -- the world's best so far for this size. Science & Technology News from Japan, Template 2009 • Felix Moesner, Science & Technology Attaché Page 16 of 28
Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft Confédération suisse Confederazione Svizzera Confederaziun svizra Embassy of Switzerland in Japan State Secretariat for Education and Research SER Ceramic Substrate Increases LED Brightness By 10% (March 25, 2009) TDK Corp. has developed a ceramic substrate that protects light-emitting diodes and increases their brightness by 10%. The substrate is processed and manufactured in wafers like a semiconductor and has the same function as a varistor. The new substrate also eliminates the need for Zener diodes. This saves on the time and cost that would be spent mounting Zener diodes and allows for greater absorption of light, thus increasing light-emission efficiency by around 10%. Static electricity prevention and component cost are the same as for substrates that use Zener diodes. Japanese-Brazilian Collaboration For Biomass Hydrogen (March 25, 2009) Sapporo Breweries Ltd. will collaborate with Petrobras to test a process for making hydrogen fuel from sugar cane dregs and other biomass. The Sapporo Holdings Ltd. unit is testing a technology in Japan that generates hydrogen from the fermentation of bakery waste. Petrobras will use this technique to produce hydrogen fuel from the plentiful biomass available in Brazil. The plan is to build a pilot plant on the outskirts of Sao Paulo and begin production in October. Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction-Technology For Asian Nations (March 25, 2009) Japan will provide other Asian countries with technologies for reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, in a bid to obtain their cooperation in international efforts to tackle global warming under a new framework beyond 2013. The Japanese government, which plans to use the amount of emissions reduced toward its reduction quota, will launch on-site research projects in China and Indonesia with an eye to providing the technologies from fiscal 2010. The Environment Ministry aims to take steps in as many as 10 other Asian nations, such as Vietnam and India. Governmental Subsidies Make Solar Panel Use More Lucrative (March 26, 2009) With the central and local governments introducing and expanding subsidies for alternative energy investments, consumers may be able to recoup costs for solar power systems in 10-15 years, cutting the recovery time by half. Consumers can achieve a return on their investment through savings on electricity bills and by selling surplus energy back to the power grid. Without any subsidies and at the going rate for selling power to the grid, it would take 27.7 years to recoup the initial investment. The central government's subsidies will lower this to 15.6 years, and adding in the other subsidies would further shorten it to 10.7 years. Gas Companies Introducing Household Fuel Cell Systems (March 26, 2009) Six gas companies will begin selling fuel cells to households, spurred by the pending introduction of government subsidies for buyers. They have decided to sell their fuel-cell-based cogeneration systems under the Ene-Farm brand, having set a combined sales target of 4,000 to 5,000 units for fiscal 2009. These systems generate electricity and heat through a reaction between oxygen and hydrogen, which is extracted from gas and LPG. Because the heat is used to heat water, these systems have a high energy conversion efficiency of 70-80%. Fuel cells still need more time to recoup their initial investment than solar power systems do. Solar Power System Providers Push Up Residential Demand (March 26, 2009) Competition is heating up among companies that hope to capitalize on government subsidies aimed at pushing up residential demand for solar power generation systems. Misawa Homes Co. has begun selling solar power generation systems at a steep discount to customers. Sekisui House Ltd. will consolidate under a new brand houses that come standard with solar power systems. Sharp Corp. will release next month a solar power system compatible with narrow and irregular roof dimensions. The product is geared toward the rooftops common in Tokyo, which will offer its own subsidies. Compared with existing models, it is expected to generate 20% more power. Gel Recovers Heavy Metals From Waste Liquid (March 27, 2009) A joint research team from Kyushu University and Kinki University has developed a gel-like material that can remove heavy metals like hexavalent chrome and nickel from industrial waste liquid. The material promises to be a low-cost way to recycle heavy metals, since it not only recovers the heavy metals for reuse but also reduces their concentrations in waste liquid to levels low enough for safe disposal. The gel is made from long polymer molecules Science & Technology News from Japan, Template 2009 • Felix Moesner, Science & Technology Attaché Page 17 of 28
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