Hydrogen could serve as an eco-friendly energy carrier and has a great versatility in a wide range of industrial applications. Our group is working on development of highly active and stable electrocatalysts for fuel cells and water electrolysis. By exploring the reaction mechanisms, we are expanding the knowledge that are needed to establish design principles of the electrocatalysts. We are also moving toward minimization/removal of noble metals from the catalysts, as this would be a key to achieve a sufficient level of economic feasibility.

Batteries not only have impacted our everyday lives but are also causing structural changes of industry. We are developing advanced electrode materials and systems to enhance the performance of state-of-the-art batteries and improve their reliability and safety. Moreover, in order to meet the high demand for the raw materials and resolve the related environmental issues, our team is working on various electrochemical separation techniques to extract useful resources from battery wastes and reuse them in batteries.

Rise in the atmospheric concentration of CO2 have caused global warming and climate change, and the mankind are beginning to realize their significance. In order to mitigate this change, our group is developing electrochemical technologies to capture CO2 and turn it into useful a compound. The effort for CO2 capture covers a wide range of CO2 concentration, from 400 ppm in air to 15-20% in flue gas. We are also working on electrochemical reduction of CO2 into fuels and chemicals to utilize the captured CO2. 

Based on our expertise in abovementioned topics, we are carrying out various research works on resource recovery and water treatment. Electrode materials that could selectively capture valuable resources are being developed, and the same approach is taken for the selective removal of hazardous wastes. Moreover, electrochemical techniques used for capturing ionic species are applied for desalination, potentially targeting the production of freshwater from seawater, securing the water resource for the mankind.