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Message from the Director
Research Overview
Management Structure

Message from the Director

Toward Realization of a "Beyond Zero" Society

Currently, various efforts are being made to solve global warming issues and resulting climate change. In order to solve these, we need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, to zero.
However, reducing CO₂ emissions alone will not bring us to a net zero carbon emissions; we need to capture CO₂ that has already been released into the atmosphere. The technology to directly remove CO₂ from the atmosphere is called “negative emission technology”.
In this research center, we are comprehensively studying technologies for capturing CO₂ in the atmosphere, chemically converting the captured CO₂ , using it as carbon resources, safely storing it underground, and effectively using light as an energy source in these processes. By combining these technologies, we aim to realize a “carbon resource recycling society (carbon-neutral society)” in which CO₂ is collected and effectively utilized everywhere, and ultimately a “beyond-zero society “is realized in which the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere is permanently reduced.

Research Center for Negative Emissions Technologies
Director

Shigenori Fujikawa

Research Overview

Purpose of the Research

This center aims to develop negative emissions technologies of greenhouse gases, i.e., developing technologies for CO₂ capture directly from the atmosphere, conversion and storage of the captured CO₂, and utilization of light as energy. CO₂ should be captured from the air anywhere since the air exist ubiquitously on the earth. This ubiquitous nature will realize the construction of an energy-robust society through Local production Local consumption of carbon resources and contribute to the control of global warming by underground storage of excess emissions.
The goals of this research center are to solve pressing issues that need to be addressed globally, and smooth implementation in society is also important. For this purpose, international and industrial collaborations are indispensable, and it is important to provide interfaces for close collaboration and discussion between industry, government and academia. Therefore, the center will play a role as an interface to promote future collaborative activities.

The research project of “Moonshot for beyond Zero-Emission Society (MOZES) “is suppoted by the Moonshot Research and Development Program launched by the Cabinet Office of Japan. MOZES creates Direct Air Capture and Utilization (DAC-U) system, which is a integration of a membrane separation and an electro/thermochemical CO₂ conversion units, to manage CO₂ from capturing atmospheric CO₂ to carbon fuel production.

Free-supporting nanomembranes with the world's highest performance CO₂ permeance

Research contents

In order to provide solutions to global warming issues and establish a carbon resource recycling society, MOZES will contribute to developing technologies for “local production for local consumption” of CO₂ by distributing a small and scalable CO₂ capture and conversion (DAC-U) system. Specifically, we will design and assemble CO₂ capture and utilization units according to facility scales, such as homes and factories, and place DAC-U systems everywhere in society to build a carbon-recycling society starting from a small scale approach.
In order to build a recycling society with theDAC-U system, it requires a variety of researches, such as membrane development for efficient CO₂ capture, chemical conversion of CO₂, and technologies for safe storage of CO₂ underground. Furthermore, it is necessary to verify and visualize such a future society from social-, financial-, and design engineering perspective.
In thisCenter, experts from various fields of Kyushu University and overseas researchers are working together to conduct researches in eight divisions.

Management Structure

Organization Chart

K-NETs Organization Chart

Leading Members

  • Director

    Shigenori Fujikawa

    Professor

  • Associate Director

    Miho Yamauchi

    Professor

  • Ubiquitous CO₂ Research Division Head

    Shigenori Fujikawa

    Professor

  • Ubiquitous Photon Energy Research Division Head

    Nobuo Kimizuka

    Professor

  • Structural Analysis and Computational Science Division Head

    Ken Onda

    Professor

  • Future Society Design Division Head

    Andrew Chapman

    Associate Professor

  • Future System Design Research Division Head

    Yoshito Ogata

    Professor

  • IP and Technology Alliance Division Head

    Shigenori Fujikawa

    Professor