Message from the Director of Tokyo Tech Academy of Energy and Informatics

　Building a society that harnesses sustainable energy while developing the economy and curbing climate change is an urgent global challenge. The cost of renewable energy has been dramatically reduced during the past several years, and ESG (environment, social, and governance) investment has already started to have a major impact on the industry. In addition, certain technologies are now recognized as essential for building a sustainable energy society: leveraging hydrogen’s ability to store chemical energy as a carrier for global consumption (called as global H₂), and producing energy from domestic renewable sources, etc. for local use (called as local H₂). As we head toward 2030 and 2050, we will experience a social transformation led by the advancement of energy technologies, for which research and development will be a key driver.

　Furthermore, thanks to advancements in computing technology, we are now able to process big data in bulk, and many methods of data science-based analysis have become relatively easy to use as libraries. As a result, information science is expected to help accelerate research and development in various fields.

　These circumstances led to the establishment of the InfoSyEnergy Research and Education Consortium (“InfoSyEnergy”) at Tokyo Tech in February 2019.

　InfoSyEnergy’s missions are to take the lead in various applications of big data science in factor research and system research in energy fields, and to adopt digitization as a tool for developing a low-carbon or carbon-neutral sustainable society. (Tokyo Tech defines big data science as a combination of data science and AI analysis.) InfoSyEnergy defines its sought-after “ambient energy society” as one in which the environment and economic advantage coexist without people having to worry about energy cost and protecting the environment. We aim to achieve such a society by making the most of big data science and creating new values and services through industry-academia collaboration.

　In August 2020, Tokyo Tech’s proposed Multi-Scope･Energy WISE Professionals doctoral degree program was selected as a WISE Program by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and the Tokyo Tech Academy of Energy and Informatics was established the following December as the educational arm of InfoSyEnergy. Exceptional students pursing master’s degrees in energy and information fields within Tokyo Tech are selected to participate in the five-year integrated graduate program, with the goal of becoming outstanding professionals with doctoral degrees. The program is designed to help students build a solid understanding of multi-disciplinary energy science, pursue research and development by taking advantage of big data science, and eventually develop into individuals capable of taking leadership and making use of technologies in social design. The program provides sufficient financial support so that students are able to concentrate on their studies, and also offers a number of research collaboration opportunities that will be valuable for future global talent with doctorates. Opportunities are available through international forums, research workshops, internships at overseas locations, among others, thanks to collaboration with InfoSyEnergy member companies and top-class universities around the world. We expect many of our students will become Multi-Scope･Energy WISE Professionals. We also look forward to welcoming companies to participate in InfoSyEnergy and highly appreciate the continued support and cooperation from the business world.