Imperial College London and Hitachi to launch a joint research centre for decarbonisation and natural climate solutions

Jul 12, 2022 16:59 JST

Source: Hitachi, Ltd.

LONDON, Jul 12, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Imperial College London (Imperial), Hitachi, Ltd. and Hitachi Europe Ltd. (Hitachi) today announced that they have signed an agreement to establish a joint research centre for decarbonisation and natural climate solutions. Together, they will collaborate in fundamental and applied research, addressing key challenges in decarbonisation and climate repair in order to achieve a Net Zero future.

The new Centre, named the "Hitachi-Imperial Centre for Decarbonisation and Natural Climate Solutions" will enable a fundamental and applied research programme to be established where Imperial and Hitachi will collaborate on selected research projects, reports and white papers on the challenges and technologies in reaching net zero, as well as potential scenarios that could arise when the world reaches net zero. The Centre will also help train the next generation of scientists and engineers in the field.

Initial research projects will focus on carbon management, the decarbonisation of energy and transport, carbon dioxide removal and biodiversity, with a focus on new technologies and nature-based solutions. The Centre will be a platform to bring together researchers from different faculties and disciplines, to build a truly multidisciplinary, holistic programme, taking a systems-thinking approach to embed both technical and socio-economic/policy aspects to deliver transformative and translatable solutions.

Imperial is committed to helping societies become more sustainable through bold initiatives that find meaningful solutions to climate change. Imperial's Transition to Zero Pollution initiative aims to build new partnerships between research, industry and government - from fundamental science and engineering, systems thinking, human health, new business models, and policymaking - to realise its vision of a sustainable zero pollution future.

Hitachi's Environmental Vision is to realise a decarbonised and resource-efficient society in harmony with Nature, and thereby contribute to a sustainable society flourishing within planetary boundaries and enhancing human well-being. To underline its commitment to a net zero society and become a Climate Change Innovator, Hitachi joined the United Nations Race to Zero Campaign in 2020, was a principal partner of COP26, and has been advocating a holistic approach to combating climate change together with stakeholders. Building on its strong presence in the mobility and energy sectors in Europe, Hitachi will leverage the global footprint and green products portfolio of the Hitachi group to deploy economically viable impactful end-to-end green solutions.

Projects under this collaboration will be steered jointly by senior representatives from both Imperial and Hitachi, including Professor Mary Ryan from Imperial's Faculty of Engineering, and Dr Kazuyuki Sugimura, CTO of Hitachi Europe Ltd.

Professor Ryan, who also leads the Transition to Zero Pollution initiative, said: "There is greater urgency than ever before to tackle global pollution, of which CO2 is one of the biggest sources. This joint research centre will bring together world-leading scientists and innovators in decarbonisation and climate repair to develop new technology and solutions to the climate emergency. Imperial and Hitachi will work closely together to make significant advances in developing cleaner energy and this new centre will accelerate our work towards a zero pollution future."

Dr David Green, collaboration centre lead for Hitachi and Head of the Sustainability Laboratory in the European R&D Centre of Hitachi Europe Ltd. said: "Limiting greenhouse gas emissions and reaching Net Zero is crucial. Yet even in a net zero world we will still face serious societal and environmental challenges caused by high residual levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We are excited to open our new centre with Imperial which builds on previous collaborations and harnesses their expertise in scientific research, business and policy."

About Imperial College London

Imperial College London is one of the world's leading universities. The College's 22,000 students and 8,000 staff are working to solve the biggest challenges in science, medicine, engineering and business.

Imperial is University of the Year 2022 in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide. It is the world's fifth most international university, according to Times Higher Education, with academic ties to more than 150 countries. Reuters named the College as the UK's most innovative university because of its exceptional entrepreneurial culture and ties to industry. Imperial has a greater proportion of world-leading research than any other UK university, according to the Research Excellence Framework (REF). Imperial ranks first in the UK for research outputs, first in the UK for research environment, and first for research impact among Russell Group universities.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society with data and technology. We will solve customers' and society's challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products, under the business structure of Digital Systems & Services, Green Energy & Mobility, Connective Industries and Automotive Systems. Driven by green, digital, and innovation, we aim for growth through collaboration with our customers. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2021 (ended March 31, 2022) totalled 10,264.6 billion yen ($84,136 million USD), with 853 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 370,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com.

About Hitachi Europe Ltd.

Hitachi Europe Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., is headquartered in Sefton Park, UK. The company is focused on its Social Innovation Business - delivering innovations that answer society's challenges. Hitachi Europe and its subsidiary companies offers a broad range of information & telecommunication systems; rail systems, power and industrial systems; industrial components & equipment; automotive systems, digital media & consumer products and others with operations and research & development Laboratories across EMEA. For more information, visit https://www.hitachi.eu/en.

For more information, use the enquiry form below to contact the Research & Development Group, Hitachi, Ltd. Please make sure to include the title of the article. www8.hitachi.co.jp/inquiry/hqrd/news/en/form.jsp

Sectors: Environment, ESG