In Japan, it has been declared that the country will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. There is a strong need to maximize the use of renewable energy sources while enhancing the existing energy supply.

To achieve this aggressive target, it is essential to build a smart grid that will upgrade grid operations by utilizing not only energy-related technologies, but also digital technologies such as information and telecommunications, as well as control technologies that will transform renewable energy, whose power supply fluctuates uncertainly depending on weather conditions, into a reliable energy source.

Many people may take the availability of electricity for granted. However, Apple, for example, has officially announced that it will switch to manufacturing components using 100% renewable energy by 2030. Such global trends related to ESG suggest that a strict future is looming in which even the manufacture of components will not be acceptable without proactive efforts toward a clean energy supply. This is by no means limited to the energy industry. Energy issues cannot be separated from the smart city concept, such as Toyota's Woven City.

Our laboratory is just one laboratory at an institute. It is not realistic for us to single-handedly pursue major projects that will immediately transform the lives of citizens like large corporations with tens of thousands of employees or infrastructure companies that support the energy field.

On the other hand, there are many advantages unique to academia. One such advantage is the freedom to conduct academic research without the constraints of financial gain. We can also summarize discussions from an academic perspective and serve as a bridge between companies and governments.

Our specialty, systems and control theory, is a mathematical methodology for linking people and things to create a good spiral for the system as a whole. By engaging in this kind of systems thinking with an open mind, we are able to explore the ideal form of next-generation energy and information from a flexible perspective, which is a unique strength of ours. What we can do is to engage in research and development unique to academia, while aiming to give back to the future society with companies and governments. To this end, co-creation with a wide variety of people is indispensable.

Our laboratory is engaged in a variety of efforts to achieve the above goals.

While focusing on research into new systems and control theory, we are also working hard to build a digital simulation platform that will help students and researchers in the field of systems and control to start energy-related research and development without difficulty. We have named this platform GUILDA with the intention of attracting new colleagues and encouraging co-creation. The fundamentals of power systems control can also be learned through a textbook (to be published in 2022) that summarizes related knowledge.

The student rooms are open spaces where students can casually chat and consult. We are conscious of setting interlocking research themes for students so that they can think together without being confined to themselves.

On campus, we participate in the program of Tokyo Tech Academy of Energy and Informatics. Tokyo Tech is focusing on energy-related research on a university-wide basis, as "Integrated Energy Science" is one of the priority fields in the concept of The Designated National University Corporations.

We are also participating in a hydrogen energy demonstration project for citizen participation that is being promoted based in Kitakyushu City, a global model city for the promotion of the SDGs. In these programs and projects, we strive to strengthen collaboration with the aim of social implementation by exchanging opinions with a diverse range of people belonging to government, related companies, and research institutes.