Renewable Fuel Global Network (RE-Global)
Social Cooperation Research Departments

Realize the world's first renewable hydrogen society

We at the University of Tokyo aim to create an environment for research and education in which a diverse range of people can demonstrate their abilities through strengthening social and international collaboration. We also believe that universities should be the birthplace of the societal change needed to achieve both Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and economic growth. In particular, in order to achieve multiple SDGs at the same time, it is especially important to deliver universal sustainable energy.
In the Japanese government’s Basic Hydrogen Strategy, CO 2-free hydrogen is assumed to be produced from renewable energy sources. Considering the restrictions on the potential to introduce renewable energy in Japan (sunlight hours, installable area, power grid, uneven distribution of consumption areas, etc.), we believe it is essential to build a ‘global network of renewable fuels’, in which hydrogen is produced and imported into Japan using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind that can be obtained overseas at low cost and in large quantities. Already in Australia, governments and leading companies have launched a project to export renewable fuels, advocating the removal of coal-fired power and the transformation of their industrial structure. Given the timing of this global movement, it is appropriate for Japan, a country with developed hydrogen-related technologies, to proceed with industrial-academic-governmental collaboration efforts regarding the import of renewable hydrogen. We believe it is necessary to develop the technology to mitigate the cost of large-scale renewable hydrogen production in overseas countries rich in renewable energy resources such as Australia, to create scenarios for introducing renewable fuels, and to conduct research on the introduction and expansion of energy management technology using hydrogen etc., all of which must be done while maintaining a favourable relationship with future renewable fuel-exporting countries.
One activity of this Social Cooperation Research Unit is to proceed with the techno-economic analysis of large-scale renewable hydrogen production plants, including photovoltaic power generation, referring to the results of hydrogen production currently underway both domestically and overseas. We will also consider the manifold merits of renewable energy that cannot be assessed by simple monetary value, consider measures for allowing renewable energy to be accepted by society, and examine social system scenarios in which renewable fuel provides the main source of energy. Furthermore, we will investigate regional renewable energy management in areas with abundant renewable resources which will serve as bases for exporting renewable energy to Japan in the future, and identify issues related to systems and policies for augmenting the production potential of renewable fuels.

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