--The value of energy that supports (changes) humans, industries, regions, and the future--
Professor, Strategic Innovation Research Center, Teikyo University Yuji Tanuma
In 1980, he completed the master's course at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Graduate School Engineering, Tohoku University. For a long time thereafter, he was involved in the development and design of turbines for power generation in industry. He received his Ph.D. in Engineering from Tohoku University in 1995. Since then, in parallel with his development and design work, he has been in charge of lectures on fluid machinery, mechanical CAD and design, high-speed fluid dynamics, and energy mechanical system design at Kogakuin University, Tokyo Metropolitan University, and Yokohama National University, and became a Visiting Professor of Yokohama National University in 2010. From April 2010 Teikyo University Joint Program Center Professor From 2013 to 2015, he concurrently served as a technical advisor at the Research Promotion Bureau of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), where he cooperated in industrial use promotion projects for the K computer and the post K computer. In 2015 Japan he became president of the Gas Turbine Society of Japan, and in April 2017 he Professor the Teikyo University Center for Strategic Innovation Research. Teikyo University Graduate SchoolGraduate School of Science and Engineering and Faculty of Science and Engineering additional post Department of Mechanical and Precision SystemsProfessor 。
To summarize this report ...
Although technological innovation in renewable energy is progressing rapidly, "stable supply" is still an issue because it is affected by the weather and climate.
For example, the optimal operational image of the entire power generation system is important for designing a single blade of a power generation turbine.
From the image of society as a whole, it is most important to optimize all power generation methods such as solar power, wind power, hydropower, geothermal power, woody biomass, thermal power, and nuclear power for energy supply.
The potential of renewable energy is higher in rural areas. When combined with a supercomputer center, it is possible to supply energy and foster a highly knowledge-intensive industry in rural areas.
Pursuing overall optimal design is also an act of deeply grasping our society itself. From the energy aspect, we would like to contribute to the realization of a new sustainable society that the SDGs advocate.
Energy and technology
Today, there is a major shift around the world from traditional energies such as coal and natural gas to renewable energies. Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, Japan is no exception and technological innovation is progressing rapidly. However, there are still major issues with "stable supply." Power generation from variable renewable energies such as solar and wind is highly dependent on weather and weather. According to the recent time-series data on the power supply and demand situation released by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., the peak power demand starts around 9 o'clock and continues until after 19:00. In fine weather, solar power can handle this peak until after 16:00, but at the peak of demand until the dinner time after that, the output of the pumped hydropower stored by thermal power at night is increased.
Weekly electricity supply and demand results from Monday, August 5, 2019 to Sunday, August 11, 2019 (4) Unit [10,000 kWh] Created from the data of TEPCO Power Grid, Inc. "FY2019 Supply and Demand Results" (4)
According to European power research institutes, in order to make the best use of electricity from renewable energy, it is necessary to back up with a stable power supply with a power generation capacity of almost the same scale. At present, thermal power generation is the main backup power source worldwide, just as thermal power generation supplements the windless time zone in Germany, where the use of wind power is advancing. That is why it is desired to increase the number of renewable energy power generation systems that can provide a stable supply of biomass and geothermal energy.
Future simulation
My area of expertise is fluid mechanics. After studying mechanical engineering at university, I have been working on the development and design of steam turbines for power generation such as thermal power, nuclear power, and geothermal power for 30 years in the heavy electric department of Toshiba Corporation. I am mainly conducting research useful for turbine blade design using numerical simulation of flow. We also need structural mechanics to handle the strength and reliability of machines and mechanics to predict vibrations, so we have a team of multiple experts. In the past, we have been trying to improve the performance and reduce the power generation cost in increasing the capacity of systems such as nuclear power and thermal power that exceed 1000 MW. Currently, we are also focusing on research in this field because improving the performance and reducing costs of small and medium-sized steam turbines for renewable energy systems are technical issues.
However, from the perspective of the entire power generation system and the entire power supply network, the steam turbine is a component, and the blades are just that component. The efficiency and life cycle cost of the entire power generation system will vary depending on the overall configuration of the turbine power generation system, the operation method, and the operation of the power supply network. It's the same as the performance of the same car varies from person to person. That is why power generation systems must take into account the planning, design, manufacturing, construction / installation, operation and maintenance of the entire energy transformation and utilization system, as well as future lifestyles and future industries and cities. Ultimately, the question is how elaborate the future can be drawn on the other side of a single blade design. Here you can see the important theme of "overall optimal design".
Importance of overall optimal design
The scope of overall optimal design extends to all areas. For example, the 3D curved surface design of an automobile body is the ultimate in fluid mechanics, but it is a collaborative work with artistic expressions such as the beauty of the overall form and harmony with the landscape. Powertrain design is also the culmination of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, combustion engineering, strength of materials, mechanics, mechanics and more. However, that alone is not within the reach of consumers. We also need economics, business administration, environmentally friendly design, and know-how to make at a price that many consumers can afford. Overall optimal design from the customer's perspective, business perspective, and technical perspective is important. This also applies to the energy field as it is.
Think about renewable energy. In particular, hydropower, geothermal power, woody biomass power generation, etc. are power sources that can be stably supplied. Geothermal power generation, which can utilize the constantly generated high-temperature underground steam, has room for development in Japan, which has many volcanic areas. Woody biomass power generation and power generation that uses the heat of waste incineration use the heat generated by burning wood that has absorbed carbon dioxide and paper derived from wood. Woody biomass power generation is becoming more widespread. The power generation system is basically the same as thermal power generation, and the raw material is wood. Japan has abundant forest resources, and there are many artificial forests in the logging season. I hear that the increase in the power generation business has led to the development of artificial forests in Japan that require maintenance such as thinning, which has led to the revitalization of the sluggish forestry industry. In addition, by planting trees firmly after logging, forest resources are regenerated and absorb carbon dioxide in the process of growing. From forestry to power generation, we can continue to make energy resources by hand semi-permanently. Pursuing the overall optimal design of energy in this way will be the driving force for making society as a whole sustainable.
Toward the potential of the region opened up by energy and the SDGs with full participation
According to estimates by the Japan Science and Technology Agency, the potential of renewable energy increases as it goes farther from densely populated areas such as Hokkaido, Tohoku, and Kyushu. It also overlaps with the declining birthrate and aging population and depopulated areas. If I can promote highly knowledge-intensive industries centered on supercomputer centers and data centers in these regions and promote knowledge-intensive startups where highly specialized human resources gather, I will achieve the goals of SDGs. We believe that it can be an essential regional promotion that contributes to. What is important is the overall optimization of industrial processes that change power consumption in response to unstable supplies. For example, use the time that solar or wind energy powers to run a supercomputer at full capacity to drive large-scale simulations and machine learning calculations. When it is raining, cloudy, or windless, the supercomputer is maintained, the simulation results are analyzed, and the next data is prepared. If we change our mindset to "store electricity in knowledge rather than storing it in expensive secondary batteries," self-sufficiency with renewable energy will no longer be a dream. Furthermore, if we proceed with the development of abundant renewable energy potential and trace the technological options of producing hydrogen in a part of it and supplying it to areas where self-sufficiency is difficult such as the metropolitan area, we will be self-sufficient by renewable energy in Japan as a whole. Also comes into view.
Currently, our research team is targeting Akita and Nagano prefectures, where the renewable energy potential exceeds the current power consumption, as a set of self-sufficiency of regional electricity by renewable energy and promotion of highly knowledge-intensive industry. We are proceeding with a feasibility study on the efforts we have made. In this process, it has become clear that there is sufficient potential for human resources with advanced knowledge, skills and skills in rural areas. For example, in Akita Prefecture, the third year of junior high school has been the top in the academic ability test of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for the second consecutive year. If a highly knowledge-intensive industry grows, we can envision the formation of an independent industrial area with renewable energy. I think that the role of the university is to establish a satellite campus that is responsible for advanced recurrent education, and to promote research and education that support the SDGs together with the community.
Renewable energy power generation development potential and current annual power consumption (6) (7) (TWh / year) Low Carbon Social Strategy Center, "Potential distribution of major renewable energies by prefecture and reduction of power plant construction costs", Created from data from National Research and Development, Japan Science and Technology Agency, LCS-FY2017-PP-06 (2018).
SDGs as an overall optimal design
Energy, my area of expertise in the SDGs, is listed in Goal 7. The original text says "affordable", "reliable", and "sustainable and modern". Since energy is one of the infrastructures of society, the realization of Goal 7 can greatly contribute to the achievement of other goals. Since the other goals are also linked to each other, the SDGs can be regarded as an index for the overall optimal design of the future of the earth.
It is clear that universities can do with the SDGs. One is education and one is research. They are always tied to one of the 17 goals. The Center for Strategic Innovation Research, Teikyo University, to which I belong, is an organization that promotes goal-oriented research and education beyond the boundaries of conventional faculties. We are also strengthening collaboration with researchers on campus and at other universities, and are conducting research through industry-academia collaboration and medical collaboration, including the main energy. We are also active in joint research with companies and accepting researchers, and we are promoting research that can be utilized in the real world, from joint research with small and medium-sized enterprises to obtaining patents. Connecting research and education, as well as connecting universities and businesses, can be said to be the overall optimal design of society. How do we simulate the situation surrounding us in a situation where society is constantly changing dynamically and rapidly? The appearance of new energy production and consumption, which is derived from global optimization that looks to the future beyond the region, is the appearance of a new society and our lives.
