No. 715: Developing industrial applications of the high-precision Japanese GPS (May 15, 2013)

Technology:

A total of about 200 companies including Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi Electric will establish an industry-government-academia research organization coming July to promote industrial applications of the Japanese GSP. The currently-used GPS analyzes the radio waves coming from U.S satellites to figure out a position. The Japanese GPS uses 4-7 quasi zenith satellites going around in the sky above the region from Japan and Australia describing a figure of eight. With the quasi-zenith satellite system, the error will decrease from 10 m to less than 1 m, and ultimately to less than several tens of centimeters. The organization plans to start substantiative experiment toward 2016. The “Michibiki (guidance)” launched in September 2010 is currently in operation. It stays just above Japan for eight hours a day. The Japanese government has decided to launch three quasi satellites to set up a four-satellite system by 2018.

With the technology to be realized by the Japanese GPS, it will be possible to increase the guide precision of the car navigation system and the accident prevention function of a vehicle. Other applications include precise operation and control of aircraft, even smoother train operation, detailed instructions on cropping system, optimal pesticide spraying, automated operation of farm equipment, precise control of construction machinery, and elaborate services for sightseers looking for a sightseeing spot with a smartphone in hand. The Japanese GPS can be used in the areas covered by the quasi zenith satellites including East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia. The Cabinet Office reckons that the position information service in the Asia and Oceania regions will grow to about 11 trillion yen in 2020, accounting for 20% of the world market.  

 Japan's first quasi zenith satellite "Michibiki (Guidance)"

No. 714: Renovation of the SPring-8 (May 14, 2013)

Technology:

RIKEN will renovate its SPring-8, the large-scale reflection facilities with the world highest level technology of analyzing substances, located in Hyogo Prefecture with an investment of 40 billion yen. The laboratory will downsize the electromagnet to narrow down electron beam, increase the brightness of radiation light by 100 times, and uniform light quality. At the same time, it will decrease power consumption by 10 megawatts for stable operation because its activities in summer have been under control after the March 11 disaster of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture. It plans to start the renovation in three years after obtaining an approval from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The new SPring-8 is scheduled for completion in 6-7 years.

Since the SPring-8 started operation in 1997, it contributed a lot to the development of IGZO and low-fuel consumption tires. It is urgently required to increase the performance of the SPring-8 for the research of the next-generation solar batteries and lithium-ion batteries. In fact, the renovation is indispensable to increase Japanese competitiveness in electronics, auto, and biotechnology. RIKEN completed its SACLA for 40 billion yen last year. The new SPring-8 is expected to cover what cannot be studied by the SACLA.     

A tour of SPring-8

No. 713: A new electrode to double the output of a fuel-cell electric vehicle (May 13, 2013)

Technology:

Hiroshi Kitagawa and Hirokazu Kobayashi, both are from Kyoto University, developed a new electrode that doubles the output of a fuel-cell electric vehicle. Incorporated into the generating equipment of a fuel-cell EV, it can increase the acceleration of an EV to that of a gasoline vehicle. A metal catalyst of a nanometer size increases the output of a cell by two times. The two professors plan to put the electrode into practical use in alliance with companies involved in the production of electrodes and catalysts.

They covered a very small palladium cube of 10 nanometers square with an organic compound several nanometers thick. The organic compound stays hydrogen of fuel near palladium. When compared with the conventional electrode exposed particles of palladium, the new electrode makes is easier to occur the reaction to generate hydrogen, resulting in a higher output of the fuel cell. It is expected that the new electrode will allow easy production at the same cost of the existing electrode.

Latest fuel-cell EVs introduced in the World Smart Energy Week 2013 

The World Smart Energy Week 2014

No. 712: Developing advanced vehicles is in progress (May 10, 2013)

Technology:

It is in the International Tokyo Toy Show held last July that Toyota exhibited the Camatte that attracted great attention from children. The Camatte is a three seated vehicle. It is 2,700 mm long, 1,300 mm wide and 1,200 mm high, and its wheelbase is 1,800 mm. It was developed by Toyota in alliance with Znug Design founded by ex-designer of Toyota. The user of a Camatte can disassemble and assemble it as if it is a toy in half a day. You can detach the front half of the body by unscrew the four knobs on the hood and headlights. It is often said that the pursuit of mass production is not successful in developing a vehicle that consumers accept with excitement.

Technology is advancing rapidly. ZMP developed a robocar. Based on Toyota’s Prius, the robocar automatically operates the accelerator and brake, and avoids obstacles. Interested in this robocar, Microsoft supports this company with the collection and analysis of such vehicle information as engine revolution, acceleration, and deceleration using its own cloud computing environment. The founder was involved in a project to develop a small robot and convinced that robots would change people life dramatically in 10 years. He came across with an excellent American programmer at home in analyzing vehicle information and developed the robocar in alliance with him. Some say that more young people will lose interest in vehicles in the future, and automakers are absorbed in searching the ways to around their curiosity.  

Introduction of the Robocar

No. 711: Generating electricity using gases from sewage treatment (May 7, 2013)

Technology:

Fuji Electric developed a generation system that utilizes methane gas generated in the sewage treatment plant. The company developed equipment that extracts hydrogen from methane gas. Combined with the industrial fuel battery for plants and offices, the equipment generates electricity. The fuel battery has a capacity of 100 kW, and the system is available at 70 million yen that is about 40 % lower than the generally-used gas engine. Besides being high in generation efficiency, the system makes less noise. That is, it can eliminate the cost to build noise insulation equipment. The company is running the system on a trial basis in a prefecture in the Kanto region. The prefecture is expected to get sales of 60 million yen by selling electricity as against the maintenance cost of about 20 million yen per year.

Biomass generation is subject to the nationwide system to purchase electricity generated by renewable energy that started last July. Because of high initial investment, however, biomass generation is not as popular as photovoltaic generation. It accounts for only 1% of all equipment for power generation approved by electric power companies as of January 31, 2013. The purchase price of electricity produced by biomass generation is set at 40.95 yen per kW. The generation system by virtue of gas generation in sewage treatment is not widespread in the world. Fuji Electric plans to export the system to developing countries including Southeast Asian countries. According to a research firm, the world biomass generation market will grow from 21 billion yen in 2010 to 23 billion yen in 2015.  

            

The technology to utilize sludge for generation was first established in 2007, 

and the technology advanced to utilize methane gas in 2013. 

No. 710: Developing a technology to charge moving electronic vehicles wirelessly using microwaves (May 2, 2013)

Technology:

A total of 22 companies including Mitsubishi Heavy and Omron and a total of 13 universities including Kyoto University and Osaka University will develop a technology to charge EVs and smartphones wirelessly using microwaves. They plan to develop a technology to transmit electricity to a distant place wirelessly in five years. In the future, they plan to apply the technology to space photovoltaic power generation that transmits electricity from the solar panels in space to the earth. They have founded a consortium for joint research. Funded by investments from the participating companies, the participating universities apply the research results to the development.

Researchers plan to put a system to charge smartphones and equipment for charging moving EVs into practical use in five years. They also plan to develop a system to charge an unmanned plane that is used to survey damage in a large-scale disaster. Toward 2040, they plan to establish a technology to generate electricity with the solar panels put on an artificial satellite in space and transmit electricity to the receiver on the earth. The technology to charge electronics wirelessly using electromagnetic induction is already in practical use. Because this technology cannot be applied to charge operating equipment far away, the researchers wish to apply microwaves to the development. According to a U.S. research company, products characterized by wireless transmission technology will grow from about 97 billion yen in 2012 to 1,150 billion yen in 2020.   

Charging an EV wirelessly by TDK

No. 709: Reducing the cost to recover rare metals to less than half of the current level (April 30, 2013)

Technology:

Dr. Yasuhiro Konishi of Osaka Prefecture University developed a technology to recover platinum and vanadium efficiently from catalysts of vehicle gas emission equipment using bacteria in alliance with Hidaka Fine Technologies. The new technology can reduce the recovery cost to less than half of the current level. They crumbled catalysts and dissolved them using chemical, and add special bacteria that bring in metals. In an experiment, they successfully recovered 99% of rare metals including platinum from a 50 ml solution in three hours. Traditionally, it was necessary to heat the solution up to 1,300 degrees centigrade using electric furnace. The new technology eliminates the necessity of heating and reduces the recovery cost to less than half of the current level. They wish to put it into practical use in three years.

He also developed a technology to recover lithium and manganese from lithium-ion batteries in alliance with Toray Engineering. They added bacteria into the solution that contain manganate lithium. Iron ions given electrons by the bacteria dissolved almost all lithium and 85% of manganese and aluminum. Dissolved metals can be recovered by resin. The new technology can reduce the recovery cost considerably.

Dr. Junji Shibata of Kansai University developed a technology to recover rare metals in alliance with Nippon Recycle Center. They added methanol to the solution that contains lithium ions to recover lithium. Although about 20% of lithium deposits, they added methanol and sodium hydrate to the solution to reduce the solubility. And they successfully made 95% of lithium deposit.

Reusable metals contained in waste home electronics and mobile phones are called urban mine. National Institute for Meal Science reckons that Japanese urban mine has about 6,800 tons of gold, 60,000 tons of silver, and various kinds of rare metals. In particular, the amount of indium and tantalum is estimated to exceed 10% of world resources. Because of the high recovery cost, the recycling rates of gold, palladium, platinum, and rhodium were 40%, 38%, 19%, and 7% respectively in 2008. The race to develop a technology for efficient recovery of rare metals will grow fiercer.

Major methods to recover rare metals

Research laboratory	Approach
Osaka Prefecture University	Recover platinum and palladium in a solution using bacteria
Osaka Prefecture University	Dissolve lithium, manganese, aluminum in a solution using bacteria
Kansai University	Deposit lithium using methanol
Morishita Jintan	Recover rare metals from plant effluent using fine capsules
Iwate University	Recover samarium using boric oxide

Recovering rare metals from home electronics 

and mobile phones grows widespread.