Kathrin Goldammer back from GJETC trip to Japan

March 16, 2023 | Kathrin Goldammer, executive director of RLI, was in Japan from February 27 to March 3 within the scope of her membership in the German-Japanese Energy Council (GJETC). The council is a German-Japanese committee to strengthen knowledge exchange on technologies, policies and impacts of the energy transition. In its form, continuity and size, the GJETC is the first German-Japanese cooperation project on energy transition of its kind. On the occasion of the first face-to-face meeting of the Council members since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, Kathrin made her way to Kyoto and Tokyo. During her stay, she passed through several different stations.

February 27 & 28, Kyoto: In advance of the GJETC meeting, Kathrin visited the Kyoto University and the Doshisha University in Kyoto. RLI has several contacts at these universities, through joint research proposals and through research on sustainable energy access in Southeast Asia. The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) at Kyoto University is particularly familiar with the latter region. The institute has been conducting research in this field since 1963 and established the Southeast Asian Studies in Asia Consortium (SEASIA) in 2013. It connects 11 institutions in Asia that deal with Southeast Asian studies. Kathrin talked to the director of the institute, Fumiharu Mieno, and some of the leading scientists.

Tomohiro Machikita, CSEAS Director Fumiharu Mieno, Kathrin Goldammer, Julie de los Reyes and Mario Ivan Lopez.

At her second stop, Doshisha University, she met students and professors. In front of this audience, she gave a lecture on the European energy crisis. Kathrin noted that some policies adopted by the EU and Germany have had drastic effects. Audience members then remarked several times that Japan is also struggling with price increases and is slow to adapt to the new situation. "As industrialized countries that are heavily dependent on energy imports, Japan and Germany are in a difficult situation. And one of the origins of this situation is that Germany has now entered the international LNG market. As a result, energy prices for traditional LNG importing countries like Japan are also rising significantly," Kathrin says.

March 1, Tokyo: The meeting at the German Embassy in Tokyo was the next stop on Kathrin's trip. There, she listened to a presentation by Felix Matthes that focused on the German Hydrogen Strategy. Kathrin also found some time to admire the beautiful Japanese garden of the embassy together with GJETC co-chair Stefan Thomas from the Wuppertal Institute. Then it was off to the German Chamber of Foreign Trade in Tokyo, which brought together Japanese female managers and young executives from the energy sector for the first time with the event "Women in Leadership in the Energysector". The Japanese-German Energy Partnership Team organized the event to provide an opportunity for women in the energy sector to exchange ideas. Kathrin gave a keynote speech about her experience in a leadership position and answered questions from the audience. Since both in Germany and in Japan leadership positions in business and science are not equally occupied, all participants lacked role models for their own careers in the energy sector. Often, however, there is simply a lack of female colleagues in one's own team or department, since in both Japan and Germany there are still completely male work groups, even below management level. Getting to know other women in the energy industry was one of the most important goals of this event.

Kathrin with the German co-chair of the GJETC, Stefan Thomas, in the Japanese garden of the German Embassy.

Women from the Japanese energy industry together with Kathrin at the event "Women in Leadership in the Energysector".

March 2, Tokyo: On this day, Kathrin went to the highlight of the trip, the GJETC meeting. At this first face-to-face meeting of the Council members since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, currently relevant topics were discussed, such as the decarbonization of the petrochemical industry, carbon neutral buildings and the potentials of waste heat recovery for the heating sector. These topics were also the content of two GJETC studies presented on the occasion.

The first study addresses the common goal of energy security and decarbonization. Japan and Germany weathered the first winter after Russia's war against Ukraine began much better than initially expected. But still, according to GJETC, there is a great need to advise policymakers on the continued reliance on fossil fuels and the search for environmentally and economically suitable alternatives. The study, which is scheduled for publication at the end of the first quarter of 2023, is intended to contribute to this effort. Further information is available here.

The second study is about sustainable construction. Prof. Tatsuya Terazawa, the Japanese co-chair of the GJETC, says: "Political objectives and the framework conditions for resource-efficient construction must be precisely evaluated and the positive effects that can be expected from the amendments to the law must be presented. Here we see the added value of the conference in the exchange with representatives of the industry and in the subsequent consultation of political decision-makers in Germany and Japan as a central feature of our work". This study is also expected to be published at the end of the first quarter of 2023. More information can be found here.

Another paper is already public: Topical paper on the potential of waste heat usage in Germany and Japan. Although waste heat is a by-product of almost all technical processes, it is often lost unused. This reduces the overall energy efficiency of technical processes, since a considerable part of the heat energy is wasted. And it also reduces the sustainability of a process. Improved use of waste heat can therefore lead to greater energy efficiency and at the same time reduce energy costs. The paper presents further problems and possible solutions relating to waste heat.

Kathrin remembered this day as follows: "The heating sector and building efficiency are completely different topics in Japan and Germany. The fact alone that we heat entire houses and buildings in Germany with central heating systems, and in Japan only individual rooms are heated for a short time, means a completely different approach to the topic. I think many of our German council members have also learned a lot - especially if they have not lived in Japan before. In itself, the Japanese way of heating is energy-saving, but the challenges are still very high for Japan at the moment, given current global energy prices. So this sector is in dire need of transformation in both countries."

March 3, Tokyo: The studies already presented on the first day also played an important role on March 3, Day Two of the GJETC meeting, and at the subsequent Stakeholder Dialogue. Discussions focused on policy frameworks that support the transition to a carbon-neutral building sector in Japan and Germany. In both countries, decarbonization of the building sector is lagging behind targets. The general question of the dialogue was therefore how to close this gap and which policies and measures can accelerate the decarbonization process. The main aim of this event was to address industry actors who could implement the results of the dialogue.

Kathrin took away from this dialogue that there is a great deal of interest in German-Japanese cooperation: "The representatives of companies in both countries keep an eye on each other because both Japan and Germany are industrialized countries with similar stakeholder groups and goals. I look forward to repeating the stakeholder exchanges at the GJETC's next council meetings on other topics."

An impression of the hybrid GJETC Stakeholder Dialogue.

The moderator of the event Johanna Schilling.