Promoting green innovation

To promote green innovation, AIST is developing technologies for increased use of alternative energy technologies, such as renewable energy sources that reduce greenhouse gas emissions (energy creation), high-density storage of energy (energy storage), highly efficient conversion and use of energy (energy saving), effective utilization of energy resources, and evaluation and reduction of environmental risks.

New Research Results

Development of New Thermoelectric Materials that Generate Electricity Perpendicular to Heat Flow

Researchers at AIST, in collaboration with Shimane University, have succeeded in developing a unique thermoelectric material (goniopolar material) that can orthogonalize temperature differences and current direction.
Most primary energy is discharged as heat, and to make effective use of this unused heat (waste heat), development of thermoelectric materials that convert heat into electricity is underway worldwide. In recent years, new materials with high performance have been reported one after another, but only Bi₂Te₃ based materials, which were discovered more than half a century ago and operate near room temperature, have been put to practical use. The lack of practical thermoelectric modules that can operate at temperatures higher than room temperature has hindered progress in power generation using waste heat. In particular, conventional thermoelectric modules have a "longitudinal" configuration in which the heat flow and the power generation direction are the same, which causes elemental diffusion and other reactions at the electrode interface in contact with the high-temperature heat source during power generation, leading to degradation, which poses a durability challenge. The research group fabricated single crystals of Mg₃Sb₂ and Mg₃Bi₂ with precisely controlled carrier density and discovered an extremely unique property (goniopolarity) that leads to the realization of "transverse" thermoelectric modules in which the heat flow and power generation direction are orthogonal. The transverse thermoelectric module does not require electrodes at the high-temperature side of the module, which prevents thermal degradation, and is expected to drastically solve the durability issue that has been the bottleneck of conventional thermoelectric modules.
First-principles calculations were performed to elucidate the origin of the goniopolarity, and it was found that the sign of charge carriers differs depending on the crystallographic direction due to the anisotropy of the electronic structure. Since there are many materials with similar characteristics, the application of the method used in this study is expected to lead to the development of thermoelectric modules with higher performance.

Schematic diagram of conventional (temperature difference and current are parallel) and new type (temperature difference and current are orthogonal) thermoelectric modules

Demonstrating Performance of Organic Liquid Fertilizer Made by Microorganisms in Hydroponic Tomato Cultivation

Researchers at AIST, in collaboration with IAI Incorporated, the Industrial Research Institute of Shizuoka Prefecture, Numazu Technical Support Center and Shizuoka University, have demonstrated that organic liquid fertilizer made from food processing wastewater can be used in hydroponic tomato cultivation.
IAI had developed the system for producing organic liquid fertilizer with AIST and the other members. Yet, the performance of the produced organic liquid fertilizer had not been evaluated in detail. For the evaluation, the performance of the organic liquid fertilizer produced was compared with that of a commercially available chemical liquid fertilizer, by hydroponically cultivating tomatoes using them respectively. In general, it is known that chemical fertilizers, whose nutrient content can be easily adjusted, have higher plant growth efficiency than organic fertilizers. However, the organic liquid fertilizer produced in this study showed a fertilization effect equivalent to that of the chemical fertilizer (Using the organic fertilizer resulted in some plant parts growing approximately 10% more than when the chemical fertilizer was used). This organic liquid fertilizer contains microorganisms. It was suggested that some of the microorganisms may settle on tomato roots and form a biofilm, thereby preventing infection by other undesirable microorganisms. This technology contributes to the realization of a sustainable society by promoting nitrogen resource recycling through the use of waste-derived fertilizers.

Demonstrating the performance of organic liquid fertilizer made from food processing wastewater with microbial capability in hydroponic tomato cultivation

Open Innovation Laboratory

Since FY 2016, as a part of the “Open Innovation Arena concept” promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), AIST has created the concept of “open innovation laboratories” (OILs), collaborative research bases located on university campuses, and has been engaged in their provision. We are planning to establish more than ten OILs by FY 2020.

AIST will merge the basic research carried out at universities, etc. with AISTʼs goal-oriented basic research and applied technology development, and will promote bridging research and evelopment and industry by the establishment of OILs.

Cooperative Research Laboratories

In order to conduct research and development more closely related to strategies of companies, we have established collaborative research laboratories, bearing partner company names.

Partner companies provide their researchers and funding, and AIST provides research resources, such as its researchers, research facilities, and intellectual property. The loaned researchers of companies and AIST researchers jointly conduct research and development.

By setting up cooperative research laboratories, we will accelerate the commercialization of our goal-oriented basic research and application research with partner companies.