KYUSHU UNIV GUIDE BOOK 2014_15_02 page 15/44

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KYUSHU UNIV GUIDE BOOK 2014_15_02

International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER)I2CNER was established in 2010 as a part of the MEXT World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI).The institute’s goal is to help establish a sustainable and environmentally-friendly society by conductingfundamental research for reducing CO2 emissions and building non-fossil fuel based energy systems.I2CNER’s areas of research include hydrogen production using photo catalysis, hydrogen storage,hydrogen tolerant materials, next-generation fuel cells, “greening” chemical reactions and catalysts,CO2 capture and utilization, and CO2 storage.I2CNER has a satellite institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the two sites act in closecoordination through joint research and personnel exchanges. Moreover, I2CNER has also established collaborativearrangements with other international universities and research institutes with the goal of working toward acarbon-neutral society. These arrangements serve to promote exchanges among researchers and interactionsamong the institutes themselves as well as to advance academic research through the fusion of disparate fields.The WPI provides concentrated support for projects to establish and operate research centers that have at their core a groupof very high-level investigators. These centers are to create a research environment of a sufficiently high standard to givethem a highly visible presence within the global scientific community―that is, to create a vibrant environment that will beof strong incentive to frontline researchers around the world to want to come and work at these centers.■ Carbon-Neutral Energy Research for the Creationof a Sustainable and Environmentally-Friendly SocietyHeat and blue plasma light from high-intensity lasersI2CNER & ACT-C Joint Symposium University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign CO2 Capture and Utilization Research Division laboratoryFuel Cells Research Division laboratoryI2CNER Director Petros SofronisKYUSHU UNIVERSITY : DISCOVERY ｜ 15