[Closed](The field of energy) Call for Unit Leaders (Principal Investigators, PIs)

1. Description

F-REI (hereinafter referred to as “the Institute”) aims to be a world-premiere "center of excellence of creative reconstruction" that will serve as a hope for realizing the future and dream of Fukushima district as well as the other part of Tohoku region. We also expect this institute to lead the Japan's scientific and technological innovation as well as strengthen the industrial capabilities, therefore to contribute to the growth of economy and the human well-being.

To this end, the Institute prioritizes recruitment and infrastructure development for research and development activities led by Principal Investigators (PIs). The Institute also plans to step up in stages its industrialization function, such as support for creation of businesses and joint research with companies, as well as its human resource development function for partner graduate schools and the younger generation. Regarding the recruitment of research and development personnel, the Institute will move in phases to recruitment through direct employment and cross appointment, shifting from research using outsourcing etc., the approach taken initially, as shown in the attached “F-REI Roadmap (for illustrative purposes).”

The Institute invites applications for unit leaders (PIs) to carry out the following research and development projects in the field of energy:

• Research Policy
  We will conduct research and development regarding generation, storage, transport, and use of energy, with the primary focus on renewable energy, with the aim of making Fukushima a pioneering carbon-neutral region in Japan. We will also address risk assessment, laws and regulations, and the establishment of technological standards to implement our research and development results in society. We will research the use of hydrogen, ammonia, etc. for energy, carbon dioxide capture using algae and plants, and utilization of CO2 as an energy source using synthetic fuels, etc. We will demonstrate that it is possible to achieve carbon neutrality and even negative emissions by making use of renewable energy as a base source and deploy the results to contribute to achieving a sustainable society.
• Examples of research topics
  • - Development of core technologies to achieve negative emissions
    Development of a technology for producing a fast-growing plant that absorbs a large amount of CO2, development of blue carbon leveraging the CO2 fixation function in seaweed, and biomass energy generation with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
  • - Development of bio-integrated green chemical technologies
    Development of a catalyst with high CO2 reduction capacity and carbon-free liquid fuel production using small-scale Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) plants that could utilize high-yielding plant and forest biomass
  • - Development and demonstration of a hydrogen energy network aimed at achieving a hydrogen-oriented society
    Design of a system for using hydrogen energy from renewable sources in coordination with electric power grids and research and development of most advanced material development technologies
• Priority research areas (Note: The activities of this unit will not be limited to these research areas.)
  • - “Simulation research on the effectiveness of a hydrogen energy utilization system toward maximizing the introduction of variable renewable energy”
    (This research will, as systems research, demonstrate both in Japan and on a global scale through simulation that using hydrogen in energy systems, electricity systems in particular, is effective in maximizing the introduction of renewable energy.)
  • - “Development of technologies for ensuring the safe use of hydrogen and ammonia and for promoting the use of hydrogen and ammonia and research on contributions to the international standardization of technology standards”
    (In order to develop an environment that will help promote the use of hydrogen and ammonia in view of the interim report for the Hydrogen Safety Strategy (released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in March 2023) etc., this research will obtain supporting scientific data, etc. for ensuring safety and develop technologies for promoting the use of hydrogen and ammonia. It will also aim to contribute to the international standardization of technology standards in order to establish a seamless safety management environment.)
• About core facilities
  Research facilities will be constructed. We will consider the unit leader's request in the development of core facilities.
• About the development of research infrastructure
  We plan to develop research infrastructure for the unit's activities by renting laboratories. We expect that the budget for the procurement of the research equipment etc. to be used by the unit will be approximately 100 million yen.
• Labor expenses
  A unit will consist of several researchers. We expect that the budget for labor expenses to be used by one unit will be approximately 100 million yen.
• About research expenses
  We expect that the budget for the research expenses per unit will be approximately 100 million yen per year (including labor expenses for postdoctoral fellows and other personnel with limited contract period).

• * The structure of units will be determined later.

2. Application Deadline

4:00 p.m. Tuesday, 30^th April, 2024 (JST).

3. Application Guidelines and Forms

• (1) Guidelines (HTML, PDF: 142KB)
• (2) F-REI Roadmap (for illustrative purposes) (PDF: 214KB)
• (3) Forms (Word: 90KB)