Advanced Industrial Technology Research Articles

МОДЕРНІЗАЦІЯ СИСТЕМИ ЕКОЛОГІЧНОЇ БЕЗПЕКИ ЕКОЛОГО-ЕКОНОМІЧНОГО РОЗВИТКУ

The article describes in detail the essence of the ecological modernization concept, modernization conceptual provisions of the ecological safety system of sustainable development and system structure of the ecological modernization. The basic stages of theory development of the ecological modernization are considered. It has been established that eco-modernization determines the transition from a pre-green society through complex, long-lasting reforms to a green one. It envisages improvement of economic, political and social mechanisms of social development, assimilation of advanced industrial and information technologies for a certain historical period, economic forms, accompanying social and political institutions. Environmental modernization should become a nationwide strategy, making it possible to mobilize and concentrate the country’s existing resources to meet the challenges. The transition to a sustainable development model requires a harmonious combination of socio-economic growth and environmental security. An important role in this process is played by the application harmonization of technical, technological and organizational-economic innovations in the resource and environmental sphere. The introduction of innovative scientific and technological solutions, the development of high-tech industries will help increase the economy competitiveness and align its interests with the environmental and social spheres. In order to develop a mechanism for managing the ecological modernization of socio-economic development, it is necessary to establish its key tasks: the modernization type formation of environmentally-oriented activity of society; the ecological safety guarantee of innovative updating of enterprise production; the management actions coordination in the regional development system on the basis of updating the interests balance between business, government and society; enhanced reproduction of natural resources and factors based on updated technologies. Today, environmental modernization in Ukraine cannot be achieved on a large scale because of its focus on economic growth policy rather than sustainable development. The priority tasks of modernization of socio-economic development with the management purpose of ecological modernization are defined. The technological platforms of ecological development, their purpose, tasks and main directions of realization are analyzed. Keywords: environmental modernization, theory of environmental modernization, sustainable development, environmental technologies.

Globally applicable water quality simulation model for river basin chemical risk assessment

Abstract Many companies around the world need to assess water environmental risks in accordance with sustainable development goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) water program, and also their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Although companies have been requested to voluntarily evaluate their water risks and provide information thereon, the water quality risk in river basins is difficult to assess owing to insufficient monitoring information. This paper proposes the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology - Standardized Hydrology-based AssessmeNt tool for chemical Exposure Load (AIST-SHANEL) model as a river water quality simulation model that can be employed for chemical risk assessment and evaluation of the effects of use of a company's consumer products on river basins. AIST-SHANEL is the only unsteady analysis model that estimates spatial and temporal chemical concentrations and assesses water quality within river basins by point/non-point emission of chemical substances. To evaluate the efficacy of AIST-SHANEL, a case study focused on the surfactant linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), found in the detergents of widely used health care products, was conducted. The water risk assessment was performed in three Japanese river basins with different watershed characteristics: Tama River in urban Tokyo with high sewerage penetration rate, Nikko River in urban Nagoya with a low sewerage penetration rate, and the nonurban None River with no sewerage. In Tama River, the LAS river water concentrations were found to be strongly influenced by seasonal variations as well as the flow rate associated with dilution and temperature-induced biodegradation. Their concentrations in Nikko River were strongly affected by flooding, indicating that the influence on their transport through the drainage channel was due more to low sewage levels than temperature-induced biodegradation. In None River, the LAS river water concentrations were only slightly affected by dilution. The river sediment concentrations of LAS in the three river basins showed mild seasonal variations. The 95th percentile of river water concentrations, predicted environmental concentration (PEC), at the most downstream and maximum concentration grids in the three river basins were 4.5 and 51.2 mg/m3 for Tama River, 30 and 58.6 mg/m3 for Nikko River, and 0.15 mg/m3 for None River. Neither of the PECs nor maximum values at these grids exceeded the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) of LAS (270 mg/m3), suggesting minimal ecological risk in these river basins over the year for all target river basins due to LAS. Furthermore, we analyzed a scenario in which LAS was substituted with the highly biodegradable alcohol ethoxylates (AE) for corporate self-management measures in Nikko River with only a few sewers, and therefore only a low risk. The AIST-SHANEL model has useful and widespread application with no need for monitoring by companies; as long as the relevant watershed characteristics can be obtained, water risk assessments of chemical substances can be performed for any river basin in the world.

Low-latency adiabatic superconductor logic using delay-line clocking

Adiabatic quantum-flux-parametron (AQFP) logic is an energy-efficient superconductor logic family. The switching energy of an AQFP gate can be arbitrarily reduced via adiabatic switching. However, AQFP logic has somewhat long latency due to the multiphase clocking scheme, in which each logic operation requires a quarter clock cycle. The latency in AQFP logic should be improved in order to design complex digital circuits such as microprocessors. In the present paper, we propose a low-latency clocking scheme for AQFP logic, which we call delay-line clocking. In delay-line clocking, the latency for each logic operation is determined by the propagation delay of the excitation current, which can be much shorter than a quarter clock cycle. Our numerical simulation shows that AQFP gates can operate with a latency of only a few picoseconds. We fabricated an AQFP circuit adopting delay-line clocking using the 10 kA/cm2 Nb high-speed standard process provided by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. The circuit was demonstrated at 4 GHz with a latency of 10 ps per gate. The above results indicate that delay-line clocking can significantly reduce the latency in AQFP logic.

Spindle-runout generator devices to evaluate a rotary encoder's ability to detect spindle runout

This study aims to develop equipment and procedures to test the performance of Self-calibratable Angle device (SelfA) rotary encoder designed to detect spindle runout. Spindle runout decreases the processing and rotating-position accuracy in machine tools and can lead to a mechanical failure of the bearings inside rotary machines. To detect spindle runout, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan developed Self-calibratable Angle device (SelfA), which can detect the angle error by itself and has the epochal function to detect spindle runout.Experimental equipment is needed to generate a known amount of runout so that the performance of SelfA can be evaluated quantitatively. Therefore, we propose two spindle-runout generators and evaluate the amount of spindle runout generated by these generators. The first generator vibrates the main shaft directly and generates spindle runout within ±0.1 [μm] of the desired amount. The second approach vibrates the sensor side of the SelfA encoder and can generate several arbitrary amounts of spindle runout simultaneously, which are accurate to within ±0.02 [μm].

Photoresponsive Molecular Switches and Machines

The field of photoactivatable molecular switches and machines is expanding rapidly with an ever increasing pace of progress. In response to the steeply growing attention and relevance of this topic, we have devoted a special issue of ChemPhotoChem to the field. The issue covers a variety of the most recent developments in light-controlled molecular switches and machines brought forward by leading researchers from across the globe. A diverse set of communications, articles, minireviews, and reviews deliver fresh insights into current hot topics, urgent problems to be solved, and the most important future prospects of the field of light-activated switches and molecular machines. One of the important current trends that is clearly identified in this issue is the expansion of structural space for photoresponsive switching architectures. While the most eminent and established photoswitches, such as azobenzenes, diarylethenes, or spiropyrans, are increasingly used for ever more complex functionalities and applications, new molecular motifs, such as metronidazole, arylazopyrazoles, phenoxyl–imidazolyl radical complexes, hydrazones or indigoid chromophores, have entered the stage. These systems expand the structure and property range of light-responsive molecular tools, and thus will be of high and complementing value for future developments and applications. Another venue where there has been an ardent recent effort in the field is in tackling the persisting deficiency of detailed knowledge about the excited-state processes that govern photoswitching events. A significant body of work is dedicated to the mechanistic understanding of fundamental photophysics behind these processes. Of particular interest are: i) the dynamic processes involved in interconverting ground/stable states into meta/bistable ones, ii) the specifics of the accompanying electronic and geometric changes in the excited state, and iii) the resulting differences in the properties of photochemically interconvertible multistates. It is evident that only a combination of clever chemical structure engineering and sophisticated analytical tools will be needed to solve these important problems. Applying the spatial and temporal resolution of light provides unique opportunities for the rational control of functionality at the molecular, supramolecular, and even larger scale. In this issue the breadth of photoswitch applicability is evident by the great variety of potential uses ranging from biological chemistry, polymers, and liquid crystals, to host–guest systems, molecular machines, and solar energy storage. This diversity of applications is made possible by the inherent properties of reversible light addressability: Creation of responsiveness at the molecular level, and the unique precision of the exerted control. In this manner greater complexity can be generated in a design-driven fashion at the smallest scales, and current developments are clearly headed towards a considerable increase in complexity. Taken together we believe that this issue will not only be an important source of inspiration for specialists, but more so will instill enthusiasm and curiosity about the power of light-addressable molecular systems in the general readership. We hope that the special issue will be as stimulating for chemists, biologists, physicists, and materials scientists as it is for us. Henry Dube received his diploma in chemistry from the LMU Munich in 2004 and his Ph.D. from the ETH Zurich in 2008 in the group of François Diederich. After a postdoctoral stay at the Scripps Research Institute in the group of Julius Rebek, Jr., he started his independent group at the LMU Munich in late 2011 with a Liebig Fellowship of the FCI. Since 2014 he is an Emmy-Noether group leader at the same institution. His research focuses on photochemistry, molecular machines, and supramolecular chemistry. Ivan Aprahamian received all of his degrees (B.Sc. in 1998, M.S. in 2000, and Ph.D. in 2005) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He carried out his postdoctoral research in Professor Sir Fraser Stoddart′s group at UCLA, and then joined the faculty at Dartmouth College in 2008, where he became a full professor in 2019. His research focuses on hydrazone-based adaptive functional materials, including switches, sensors and fluorophores. Nobuyuki Tamaoki obtained his Ph.D. degree from Chiba University in Japan. After working as a researcher, a senior researcher and a group leader at Japanese government's research institutes including the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, he moved to Hokkaido University as a full professor in 2008. Currently he is also a director of the Green Nanotechnology Center of the University. His research interests include photochemistry, stereochemistry, organic synthesis, molecular switches and motors and self-assembled molecular systems.

Business model as a platform for the implementation of the process approach in the machine-building industry

Economic growth opportunities and the country’s role in the global economy are directly dependent on the use of advanced technologies in industry. Mechanical engineering, and especially the reproduction equipment sector, is a basic industry that creates a wealthy nation and a country’s influence in the international market. The leading economic powers have already entered the period of the sixth technological order related to the development of micromechanics, thermonuclear and renewable energy, membrane and quantum technologies, nanotechnologies and others. In Russia at the moment, despite the measures of state support, the engineering industry is in deep decline. Major shifts in state support are needed to close this technological gap. However, enterprises themselves need to strengthen their work to improve management efficiency. The most promising method is to use a process approach, while its implementation should not be limited to documenting procedures. After all, business modeling is just a way of displaying the current and projected processes of an enterprise to improve its performance. The platform for the successful implementation of the process approach should be called the development of a business model, which should include a comprehensive analysis of the enterprise’s activities, market conditions, industry and technology development trends.

Investigation of the power generation of organic photovoltaic modules connected to the power grid for more than three years

In this paper, we report on the power generation of commercial organic photovoltaic (OPV) modules installed outdoors at the Kyushu Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology for more than three years. The OPV modules were connected to a power conditioner system together with crystalline Si, hydrogenated amorphous Si, and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 photovoltaic (PV) modules. We investigated the output power degradation of the commercial OPV and other PV modules due to aging. We found that there are three distinctive changes in the output power of the OPV modules: (1) rapid initial degradation, (2) gradual secondary degradation, and (3) seasonal variation. We believe that the seasonal variation is due to the metastability of the solar cells. We analyzed the output power behavior in detail based on the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics and we compared the outdoor and indoor measurements. We also found that the change in I–V characteristics of the OPV modules due to light soaking are reversible.

Use of traditional inputs and advanced industrial technology in value-added within the pulp and paper industry in india

ABSTRACT This paper exploits the information obtained in Annual Survey of Industries during 1999–2010 to gauge the degree of value-added owing to the use of traditional inputs (capital, labor, energy, indigenous materials, and imported materials) and advanced industrial production technology (services, information and communications technology, and pollution control equipment) in two main sub-sectors of the Pulp and Paper (P&P) industry in India categorized according to use of different types of raw material. The panel data econometric exercise confirms that the use of traditional inputs and advanced industrial technologies, and industry level determinants of the two sub-sectors have varied effects on value-added within them. These findings are important for promoting higher value-added production in different sectors within the resource-based industry.

A single stage Accelerator Mass Spectrometry at the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo

The National Electrostatics Corporation (NEC) 250 kV single-stage AMS (YS-AMS) was installed in March 2013 at the Laboratory for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (LAMS), Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo. This is the first single stage AMS system installed in Japan. The system is equipped with a 40 solid sample ion source (MC-SNICS-II), sequential injection system at low energy mass spectrometry side, open air 250 kV high energy deck including helium gas stripper which acts as a molecular dissociation, analyzing magnet, electrostatic analyzer, sequential post-accelerator deflector, and final detector. The performance tests with 11 reference materials distributed via the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan (AIST) were in very good agreement with consensus values. Thus our routine 14C measurements have been started since August 2013 and maintaining high performance. We have measured about 8000 unknown samples during this period. Typical 12C− currents are 27 μA at low energy Faraday cup, the transmission in the accelerator is about 42%, and precision of 14C/12C and 13C/12C is better than 0.2%. Geological, archaeological, oceanographic as well as a large number of biological samples have been measured efficiently using the current system.

Effects of age-related changes in step length and step width on the required coefficient of friction during straight walking

BackgroundSlipping is one of the leading causes of falls among older adults. Older adults are considered to walk with a small anteroposterior (AP) component and a large mediolateral (ML) component of the required coefficient of friction (RCOF) owing to a short step length and a wide step width, respectively. However, limited information is available. Research questionWhat are the effects of aging on the resultant RCOF (RCOFres) and its ML (RCOFML) and AP (RCOFAP) components during straight walking? MethodsWe used the kinetic and kinematic data of 188 participants aged 20–77 years from a publicly available database (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Gait Database 2015). The participants were divided into the following three groups: young group (n = 56; age range, 20–34 years), middle-aged group (n = 50; age range, 35–64 years), and old group (n = 82; age range, 65–77 years). ResultsThe RCOFres and RCOFAP were lower in the old group than in the other groups, indicating a lower slip risk in this group. However, the RCOFML was higher and the step width was greater in the old group than in the other groups. The higher RCOFML and lower RCOFAP in the old group might be associated with slips in a more lateral direction. SignificanceOur findings suggest that older adults have a high risk of slipping in a more lateral direction. Shoes with high-slip resistance in the lateral direction are recommended to prevent hazardous lateral slips among older adults.

The conceptual development areas in the developing technologies of plastic forming of cars’ details

Based on the analysis of the essence of localization of the deformation zone the display signs of this factor and the accompanying positive effect were established. It was the basis for combining a wide range of plastically shaped car parts into groups with the subsequent development of standard (basic) technological processes for each of them.The first group includes hollow cylindrical parts with a flange. The basis of the second group of parts are stepped shafts and axles with slots. The third group of parts are elastic elements of the car suspension, consisting of strips of variable thickness along the length. Representatives of the fourth group are cylindrical solid and hollow parts with a perpendicular end. This approach allows us to form the concept of building advanced industrial technologies.

Identification and Design of Industry 4.0 Opportunities in Manufacturing: Examples from Mature Industries to Laboratory Level Systems

Considering the nascent application of advanced technologies in industry within the context of the new industrial revolution, we propose a methodology for identification and design (ID) of smart operations in manufacturing. The ID study considers the elements of the Industry 4.0 (I4) such as autonomous robots, advanced analytics, systems integration, high-end sensing, big data, internet of things, cloud computing and human-machine interactions. Toward achievable I4-based production, the proposed IDoI4 (ID-of-I4) approach integrates I4 fundamental elements regarding a) modelling and solution algorithms (MSA), b) information and communication technologies (ICT), c) high-performance computing (HPC), and d) mechatronics (MEC). These four groups of the I4 elements are examined in the industrial cases covering from mature industries to laboratory level systems to determine their current technological states and gaps into the I4 stage. The examples highlighted are crushed-ore stockpile level control in the mining field, resin bed cleaning timetabling in water demineralisation treatment, compositional data-driven real-time optimisation of hydrocarbon streams and diverse I4 basics in the next generation of biorefineries. In the main example, supported by a high-end sensing apparatus to measure crushed-ore stockpile levels in real-time (live inventory as a controlled variable by a target), a hybrid dynamic control prescribes (every 4 minutes) discrete positions and time-slots of the shuttle-conveyor tripper car mechatronics that creates the stockpiles. From such IDoI4 methodology, a table on the MSA, ICT, HPC and MEC ground bases summarises how such technologies are integrated to the industrial examples considering research, development and deployment in stable, demanded and highly demanded stages of the technologies into the I4 mandate.

Структурні деформації у промисловому комплексі України, які виникли внаслідок економічних криз, як перешкода розвитку ринку інноваційних товарів

Topicality. Crisis is one of the forms of economic development, in the course of which obsolete technique and technology are eliminated, organization of production and labour opens up space for growth and the establishment of a new one. At the same time, with the overcoming of the outdated, inevitably there is a decline in production, rising unemployment, falling incomes, which negatively affects the living conditions of people.Aim and tasks. The aim of the article is to study the impact of crisis phenomena on the development of Ukrainian industry in terms of identifying its structural deformations and their impact on the development of the market for innovative goods.Research results. In the structural dynamics of industrial production during 1991-2014, two cyclical waves were outlined: the first wave (1991 - 2007), connected with the restructuring of the economic system and the adaptation of its subjects to new economic and political realities. Second wave, which began in 2008, is related to the global economic crisis, in which Ukraine has already been closely integrated. In 2012-2014, a third wave began to form, in which the stage of decline was clearly outlined. The causes of the last wave have a political, economic and military background. Structure of industrial production has changed on the opposite ratio between production of primary and deep processing, low technological and high-tech, raw and final consumption. In particular, the change in the ratio between the production of mining and metallurgical complex, on the one hand, and machine building and light industry – on the other. As a result, there was a primitization of the sectoral structure of industry. Production acquired the export commodity specialization.Conclusions. Despite the destructive deformations in the industrial complex of Ukraine that arose as a result of economic crises, the country in its innovation development should rely on the basic industrial sectors, which today have some achievements and some advantages. Ukraine has not yet exhausted the possibilities of the industrial stage of the economy and should use advanced industrial technologies to modernize enterprises of the III and IV technological processes. However, along with the increase of the scientific and technological level of the enterprises of industries with outdated technologies, it is important, where possible, to use the information and telecommunication technologies inherent in the post-industrial society, developing such industries as aerospace, electronic, computer technology, pharmaceutical, chemical, etc. That is, the country's most effective strategy should be innovative development, which combines the innovations of the V and VI technological processes inherent in the post-industrial economy, with the scientific and technological modernization of enterprises of the IV and III forms inherent in the industrial stage.

Efforts to improve Japanese women’s status in STEM fields

Abstract I discovered novel copper and silver carbonyl catalysts while at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. The energy saving synthesis of tert-carboxylic acids was developed using the carbonylation reaction of olefins or alcohols using these novel copper or silver carbonyl catalysts under atmospheric pressure and at room temperature. After retiring from the institute, I was involved in efforts to improve women’s status in natural science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. I worked for the gender equality committee of the Chemical Society of Japan and the Japan Inter-Society Liaison Association Committee for Promoting Equal Participation of Men and Women in Science and Engineering, which sent recommendations to the government on how to realize a society with gender equality. The government accepted our recommendations, and the numerical target for female researchers was written into the 3rd Science and Technology Basic Plan in 2006. Based on the plan, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology started programs to aid universities in increasing the percentage of female researchers from 2006.

Practical and Scalable Organic Reactions with Flow Microwave Apparatus.

Microwave irradiation has been used for accelerating organic reactions as a heating method and has been proven to be useful in laboratory scale organic synthesis. The major drawback of microwave chemistry is the difficulty in scaling up, mainly because of the low penetration depth of microwaves. The combination of microwave chemistry and flow chemistry is considered to overcome the problem in scaling up of microwave-assisted organic reactions, and some flow microwave systems have been developed in both academic and industrial communities. In this context, we have demonstrated the scale-up of fundamental organic reactions using a novel flow microwave system developed by the academic-industrial alliance between the University of Shizuoka, Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and SAIDA FDS. In this Personal Account, we summarize the recent progress of our scalable microwave-assisted continuous synthesis using the SAIDA flow microwave apparatus.

Evaluation of failure modes and undrained shear strength by cone penetrometer for Natural Gas hydrate-bearing pressure-core sediment samples recovered from the Krishna–Godavari Basin, offshore India

Compressional wave velocity measurements and cone penetration tests were carried out for pressure cores recovered from the Krishna–Godavari Basin off the eastern coast of India, using an instrumented pressure testing chamber constructed by the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. For pressure cores with high gas hydrate saturations (Sh) and exhibited high compressional wave velocities also display a high loading force that resulted in tensile failure. A pressure core sample with low compressional wave velocities and low gas hydrate saturations led to a low loading force, which resulted in radial shear. The cone factor connecting the cone resistance and the undrained shear strength, Nk, was estimated using cone penetration testing and the uniaxial compressional results. We estimated its value as Nk = 45 by using a uniaxial compression loading speed of 0.01%/min and a cone insertion loading speed of 0.25 mm/s. Undrained shear strengths, estimated from cone penetration results using Nk = 45, were assumed to be equal to the tensile strengths between hydrate-hydrate and hydrate-particle interface when Sh is less than 50% and increases when Sh is more than 50% assuming that gas hydrate morphology was matrix supporting.

IX International Multidisciplinary Scientific and Research Conference “Modern Issues in Science and Technology” Workshop “Advanced Technologies in Aerospace, Mechanical and Automation Engineering”

Overview of the International Workshop “Advanced Technologies in Aerospace, Mechanical and Automation Engineering – MIST: Aerospace”Krasnoyarsk Science and Technology City Hall of the Russian Union of Scientific and Engineering Associations, 61 Uritskogo street, Krasnoyarsk, 660049, RussiaE-mail: krasnio@bk.ru. The overview describes the main directions and results of the International Workshop MIST: Aerospace-2018 held in Krasnoyarsk in October 20, 2018. It gives the details about the participants and the proceedings.The Volume contains Proceedings of the International Workshop “Advanced Technologies in Aerospace, Mechanical and Automation Engineering - MIST: Aerospace” which was held in Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation in October 20, 2018 within the framework of the IX International Multidisciplinary Scientific and Research Conference “Modern Issues in Science and Technology” (Sochi, Russia, October 20-28, 2018).The purpose of the Workshop is to share the results and prospects of the achievements in using advanced scientific, innovative and information technologies in aerospace industry, mechanical engineering and automation.

Direct Observation of Bacterial Growth in Giant Unilamellar Vesicles: A Novel Tool for Bacterial Cultures.

Invited for this month's cover picture are Dr. Masamune Morita, Dr. Kaoru Katoh and Dr. Naohiro Noda from the Biomedical Research Institute at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST, Japan). The cover picture shows direct monitoring of real‐time activity of bacterial growth at the single‐cell level inside giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs); entrapped single bacterial cells are actively increasing to a great number of cells inside GUVs. This study shows new applications for GUVs, and can offer a novel tool for culturing bacteria in bacterial studies. Read the full text of their Communication at https://doi.org/10.1002/open.201800126.

Development of Effective Catalysts for Hydrogen Storage Technology Using Formic Acid

AbstractHydrogen has attracted considerable attention as an energy source, and various attempts to develop suitable methods for hydrogen generation are made at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. In this paper, the authors introduce their recent strategies to store hydrogen using formic acid (FA) as a hydrogen carrier. FA, which is believed to be one of the most promising liquid organic hydrogen carriers, can provide a viable method for safe hydrogen transportation. In order to optimize the performance of hydrogen storage with FA, the authors have investigated both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. For example, Ir catalysts anchoring N^N‐bidentate ligands show high catalytic activity for both the reactions of FA synthesis and hydrogen generation from FA. Ultrafine Pd‐based nanoparticles are also immobilized on various supports, which show excellent catalytic performance for FA dehydrogenation under mild conditions. The authors also develop both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts to generate high‐pressure gases (H2 and CO2) over 120 and 35 MPa, respectively, from direct FA dehydrogenation without any compressing procedures. The generated high‐pressure gases (H2 and CO2) can be easily and simply separated by changing the fluid phase from the supercritical to gas–liquid phase by cooling without depressurization.

Lithium Metal Extraction from Seawater

Ping He obtained his PhD in Physical Chemistry from Fudan University in 2009, and later worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan. He currently is a Professor of College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Nanjing University, China. His research interests focus on electrochemical functional materials and energy storage systems such as lithium-ion batteries and lithium-air batteries. He has published more than 90 peer-reviewed papers. Haoshen Zhou obtained his bachelor’s degree in Nanjing University in 1985, and received his PhD from the University of Tokyo in 1994. He is the prime senior researcher of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and the professor in Nanjing University. His research interests include the synthesis of functional materials and their applications in Li-ion batteries, Na-ion batteries, Li-redox flow batteries, metal-air batteries, and new types of batteries/cells. Sixie Yang received his bachelor's degree in 2013 and recently received his PhD degree in materials science and engineering at Nanjing University. During his PhD program, he worked in Prof. Ping He and Prof. Haoshen Zhou's research group studying the reaction mechanisms and electrochemistry in Li-air and Li-CO2 batteries.