14 February 2014

Fraunhofer ISE and Fukushima prefecture sign MoU

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between Japan’s prefecture of Fukushima and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany (Europe’s largest solar energy research institute) in order to promote cooperation. Fukushima (which was struck by a severe nuclear accident three years ago) is aiming to become a new hub for renewable energy research, and in April will open the new Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute.

Picture: Fukushima prefecture’s vice governor Fumio Murata (left) and Fraunhofer ISE’s director professor Eicke R. Weber after signing the memorandum of understanding. ©Fraunhofer ISE.

“Applied research is a key factor in the technological development of companies, especially in the field of renewable energy,” says Fukushima’s vice governor Fumio Murata. “It will assist in revitalizing and enhancing the industrial competitiveness in the Fukushima area,” he adds.

“Solar technologies will be a main pillar of the future energy system which will be sustainable and carbon-free,” believes Fraunhofer ISE’s director professor Eicke R. Weber. “To this end, we must cooperate in research at an international level.” Two years ago, Fraunhofer ISE formed the Global Alliance of Solar Energy Research Institutes (GA-SERI) with the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Scientific exchange as well as joint workshops and symposia comprise the core of the new international cooperation between Freiburg and Fukushima. The idea of a partnership arose at the German-Japanese Solar Day, which took place in Tokyo in November 2012 and was further developed at the Renewable Energy Industry Fair (REIF) in Fukushima in 2013.

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