Why Hydrogen?
The severe impacts of climate change and the risks it poses to humanity are widely recognized, making a fundamental transformation of our energy systems toward carbon neutrality an urgent priority. To achieve a transition away from fossil fuels, the enormous potential of renewable wind and solar energy must be fully harnessed.
However, the widespread adoption of these intermittent renewable energy sources requires the ability to transport energy over long distances and store it over long periods — a challenge for which hydrogen is highly promising. Hydrogen can be produced with high efficiency and offers outstanding versatility as a chemical energy carrier, enabling on-demand energy use across diverse sectors including electricity generation, industrial and building heat supply, and transportation.
From a global socioeconomic perspective, hydrogen production via electrolysis using renewable electricity or biomass gasification creates economic opportunities tailored to the unique energy resources and needs of each region.
Significant challenges and unresolved scientific questions remain throughout the hydrogen lifecycle, from production to utilization. Electrolytic hydrogen production and fuel cell use require low-cost, stable, and highly active catalysts. The low volumetric energy density of hydrogen under non-extreme conditions makes storage and transport difficult. Furthermore, hydrogen combustion exhibits intrinsic flame instabilities, complicating its integration into existing combustion devices.
Addressing these challenges requires fundamental research exploring the scientific details of hydrogen production, transport and storage, and thermochemical and electrochemical utilization — with an understanding of how these domains interact. This IRTG (International Research Training Group) aims to comprehensively address these aspects, advancing the adoption of hydrogen as a renewable energy carrier and creating meaningful impact for society.
Aims and Objectives
The IRTG is structured around two primary objectives:
- To advance research across all areas of hydrogen-related technologies, including production, transport and storage, thermochemical and electrochemical utilization, and socioeconomic and techno-economic analysis.
- To train talented researchers and future leaders at various career stages by providing comprehensive, interdisciplinary knowledge spanning the breadth of the hydrogen lifecycle.
Institute of Science Tokyo and RWTH Aachen University are ideal partners, jointly offering world-class research environments and interdisciplinary competencies ranging from fundamental research in electrocatalysis, membrane technology, and combustion to system-scale applications in electrochemical and thermochemical utilization.
This IRTG represents the first full-scale effort in both Japan and Germany to train early-career researchers — engineers, natural scientists, and social scientists — as future leaders capable of driving domestic and international programs toward the energy transition. Hydrogen is a global challenge that demands locally adapted solutions while requiring worldwide interdependence and international cooperation. The opportunity for all young researchers to engage with two distinct economic environments is one of the key added values this IRTG provides.
Program Structure
HyPotential is organized into the following Research Areas. Each addresses distinct research challenges while emphasizing its role and interconnections within the overall system.
A cross-sectional research area responsible for the design, evaluation, and optimization of the overall hydrogen energy system.
Fundamental research on green hydrogen production technologies including water electrolysis, photocatalysis, and biomass gasification.
Research on safe hydrogen storage and transport technologies including compression, liquefaction, solid-state storage, and ammonia conversion.
Fundamental research on hydrogen combustion and thermal utilization, addressing flame stability and combustion device design challenges.
Research aimed at advancing hydrogen utilization in electrochemical devices such as fuel cells and electrolyzers.
Partner Institutions
This program is operated through the collaboration of two leading research universities in Japan and Germany.
This program is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).