Mission of the Advanced Chemical Energy Research Center
Energy and environment issues have risen to become some of the most prominent challenges of the 21st century. The alarm bells have long been sounded on the continued use of fossil fuels, which modern societies have so far used with abandon. There are clear reasons for the prominence of these problems. For one, fossil fuels are limited in supply by their very nature, and therefore cannot be used indefinitely. Another reason is that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen as a consequence of continued fossil fuel use to such a degree that it is difficult to ignore the link between this rise and abnormal weather events. In any case, because fossil fuels are unsustainable, expectations for natural sources of energy, such as solar and wind power (i.e. renewable energy), are growing.
The Sustainable Development Goals（SDGs）are a set of 17 broad goals adopted at a UN summit in 2015. Among them are the two goals of “7: Affordable and Clean Energy” and “13: Climate Action.” For the effective utilization of energy, including the renewable energy that would contribute to these goals, it will become increasingly important to further develop science and technology of chemical energy. Specifically, efficient conversion of chemical energy (the energy of matter) to electric energy (more readily usable form) and vice versa, and efficient transport of energy carrier is indispensable.
To contribute to the construction of a low-carbon society, i.e. a society free from fossil fuels, we have established the Advanced Chemical Energy Research Center. The Center will serve as a new base of research in chemical energy-related fields.