The Japanese-German Energy Partnership

Offshore wind power is expected to play a major role as Japan and Germany, both industrialized nations, work toward carbon neutrality. The Wind Expo at World Smart Energy Week, in which the The Japanese-German Energy Partnership Team exhibits at the German Offshore-Wind Booth, takes place at Tokyo Big Sight from March 15 to March 17.
 
On March 13, we organized as a pre-event and as an activity of the WG “Energy transition” of the Japanese-German Energy Partnership the "German-Japanese Offshore Wind Industry Forum & B2B Matching" at the Shimbashi AP in Tokyo. Around 100 experts attended this forum and more than 20 business meetings were realized.
 
We would like to thank Dr. Lucas Witoslawski, COO of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (AHK Japan) and Ms. Susanne Welter, Minister Counsellor for Economic and Scientific Affairs at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Japan for their opening remarks. We would also like to thank our keynote speakers, Ms. Reina Kodera of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and Mr. Hiroshi Matsuo, Lecturer at Nagasaki Ocean Academy for taking the time despite their busy schedules to give us insightful presentations.
 
Further, we would like to thank all companies which presented their cutting-edge technologies and solutions in the field of offshore wind power, as well as all those who actively participated in the forum and B2B meetings.
 
We are optimistic that this forum has contributed to the business activities of the participants, has promoted Japanese-German cooperation, and further accelerated the transition toward a renewable energy supply and climate neutrality.
 

On March 1, the Japanese-German Energy Partnership Team with the kind support of the German-Japanese Energy Transition Council organized a vivid exchange on women empowerment at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (AHK Japan) with a focus on “women in leadership in the energy sector” to address gender inequalities and develop strategies to support women on their career paths in the sector. We are more than glad to contribute to the cause of gender equity in the energy sector and are grateful to initiatives, that work tirelessly for this goal, such as Women Energize Women or Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition

Again, we want to cordially thank Dr. Kathrin Goldammer from the Reiner Lemoine Institute and Mika Ohbayashi from the Renewable Energy Institute to share their inspiring stories and perspectives about their career paths and female leadership with us. The event gave the participating women space to exchange ideas and give each other advice. This led to an open and honest round of discussions followed by further personal conversations and exchanges.

A detailed report on the event with selected visual impressions can be found here.

On February 27, an expert workshop on waste heat utilization took place at the Institute for Gas and Heating (Gas- und Wärme Institut, GWI) in Essen. The workshop co-organized by ECOS, NEDO and adelphi on behalf of the German-Japanese Energy Partnership gathered Japanese and German experts in the field of waste heat utilization from policy, research, associations and industry. The workshop was opened by welcoming remarks from the hosts Margit Thomeczek and Prof. Dr. Klaus Görner (both GWI) as well as by Peter Beck from ECOS Consult. Masashi Hoshino from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Dr Falk Bömeke from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) welcomed the participants via video messages and emphasized the importance of the heating transition and German-Japanese exchange on technologies, policies and cooperation opportunities. The one-day workshop was divided into three theme-based sessions. The morning session focused on the current status of and an outlook on waste heat utilization in Germany and Japan. The second sessions provided examples of waste heat utilization from different sectors and the third session was dedicated to the circumstances and challenges with regard to waste heat infrastructure. The program was completed with panel discussions on the political framework of waste heat utilization, efficient district heating and cooling networks and cooperation opportunities between Japan and Germany in the field of waste heat. The workshop was followed by two days of site-visits of waste-heat related projects and technologies in Germany for interested participants, especially for the guests from Japan. Among the sites were visits of thyssenkrupp Steel in Duisburg and of Georgsmarienhütte, where waste heat from steel production is used for district heating.

The acceptance of renewable energy was the issue of the latest Fireplace Talk, which took place on the 5th of December and was jointly organized by adelphi and the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan. 

In her welcoming remarks, Ms. Susanne Welter (Minister Counsellor for Economic and Scientific Affairs, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany) talked about the relevance of renewable energies to achieve climate goals. She continued by outlining the challenges and possible conflicts that result from the buildup of the renewables, especially in rural areas, and the need to address socio-economic aspects in this regard.

This was followed by two presentations on the acceptance of reneweable energies in Germany and Japan by Ms. Dr. Dörte Ohlhorst (Researcher and Lecturer, Munich School of Politics and Public Policy, Chair of Environmental and Climate Policy, Technical University of Munich) and Mr. Akihiro Sando (Senior Researcher, Renewable Energy Institute). Ms. Ohlhorst presented different factors that can support or deteriorate the acceptance for the development of renewable energies. Moreover, she provided German best-practice expamles for the participation of citizens in development processes and outlined guidelines that could possibly be transferred to Japan. In his presentation, Mr. Sando explained why local acceptance is very important in Japan. He identified a bottleneck regarding renewable energy and claimed that without consensus building with the local communities the deployment of renewables in Japan would fail.

In the following discussion, participants had the opportunity to report on their experiences with scaling up renewable energies as well as discuss challenges and possible solutions. A key emphasis was put on the importance on stakeholder involvement from the very beginning of planning and development processes. Further, information and knowledge about the relevance of the energy transition and possible economic benefits, e.g. through investment possibilities or lower energy costs, for local communities can result in higher acceptance.  
 

More than 90% of the population in Japan and 75% in Germany live in cities. Urban infrastructure is significantly affected by climate change. Cities - both metropolitan areas and municipalities - can provide a response to the impacts of climate change and make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Many cities in Japan and Germany have already set ambitious targets for climate neutrality and activities for the transition to climate-friendly, resilient and liveable cities.

Against this backdrop, the 12th German-Japanese Environment and Energy Dialogue Forum (EEDF) provided insights into policy measures to support cities on their way to "Net Zero". Stakeholders from cities and municipalities as well as from industry and science presented examples of concepts, best practices, demonstration projects and innovative technologies in Germany and Japan for smart grids, use of renewable energy and hydrogen, mobility concepts, district heating and urban circular economy to achieve the common goal of “Net Zero”.

We hosted an insightful expert Workshop on hydrogen hubs as part of WG2 of the Japanese-German Energy Partnership. Industry representatives and public authorities from both countries exchanged their hydrogen hub experiences and discussed respective milestones and bottlenecks. After a warm welcome by Tomohiko Adachi from the METI, and Dr. Wolfram Wilde from the BMWK, the first part of the workshop gave room to political perspectives on the planning and implementation of hydrogen hubs by NOW GmbH, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Energy Agency of the Fukushima Prefecture. They agreed that strategic planning involving all stakeholders and good public-private cooperation is key for the development of a hydrogen ecosystem and that hydrogen hubs constitute the perfect format for engaging multiple actors, promoting synergies and lowering uncertainties. The second part of the workshop turned to practical perspectives on business engagement in hydrogen hubs. Dr. Keita Nakajima from Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation presented the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) where solar energy is used for producing green hydrogen, and Bastian Gerstner-Riewer from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries EMEA, Ltd. gave an overview of the state and progress of the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub. The subsequent discussion shed light on the crucial role of overcoming regulatory challenges and the synchronization of funding schemes for de-risking. Moreover, it emphasized the need for both local and national governments’ support. We would like to thank all participants for their presence and engagement in the discussions!