METI Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry of : J-Bridge Platform U.S. Launch Event; Carbon Neutrality and Hydrogen Seminar to Be Held

September 6, 2021

Economic & Industrial Policy

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will hold a 'J-Bridge Carbon Neutrality and Hydrogen Seminar' together with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) on September 10. It will be part of the program in the U.S. by the 'Japan Innovation Bridge,' (commonly called 'J-Bridge'), a platform designed to facilitate collaborations between foreign and Japanese companies in the field of carbon neutrality. Speakers at this seminar will include Minister Kajiyama, Ms. Gina M. Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Japanese companies making progressive efforts toward achieving a hydrogen society, promising American companies with innovative technologies, and so on.

1. Overview In October 2020, Prime Minister Suga announced the goal of achieving a carbon-neutral, decarbonized society by 2050, and METI led the initiative to formulate a 'Green Growth Strategy Through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050.' Strengthening international collaboration with European and American companies in the field of carbon neutrality is featured in the Strategy.

In April this year, the U.S. and Japanese governments made a commitment to 'Japan-U.S. Climate Partnership on Ambition, Decarbonization, and Clean Energy,' and agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in order to lead climate action of the international community.

Against this background, METI and JETRO will hold the J-Bridge Carbon Neutrality and Hydrogen Seminar in connection to the program's launch in the U.S. by J-Bridge,* a business platform designed to facilitate collaborations between foreign and Japanese companies. The seminar will focus on hydrogen, a key technology for achieving carbon neutrality that is expected to be used in a wide range of fields, including power generation, industry, and transportation. The seminar will provide policy explanations by both countries' governments, lectures and dialogs by Japanese and American companies that jointly undertake leading efforts, and pitches by promising American companies with innovative technologies.

* About J-Bridge

• J-Bridge was launched in February 2021 as a business platform to create open innovation by supporting collaborations and M&As between Japanese companies and foreign ones such as businesses in the U.S. and Europe that have advanced technologies in the carbon neutrality field, and startups in Asia that are experiencing significant growth, particularly in the digital field.
• Operated by JETRO, the platform has six priority fields (carbon neutrality, mobility, smart cities, healthcare, retail, and agritech), and coordinators in cities both in Japan and overseas. It provides J-Bridge member companies with information on promising startups, etc. in the target countries and regions' priority fields, and hands-on assistance from individual interview support to forming projects.
• In the U.S., the platform will begin providing support in the carbon neutrality field using JETRO New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles as bases.

2. Outline of the event Date: September 10, 2021 9:00-11:00 (U.S. West Coast: September 9, from 17:00, East Coast: September 9, from 20:00) Format: Online Organizers: METI, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Languages: Japanese/English (simultaneous interpretation) Program (1) Opening remarks (9:00-9:10)

• Mr. Kajiyama Hiroshi, Minister of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan
• H.E. Gina M. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, United States of America

(2) Part 1: Hydrogen policies of Japan and the U.S. and the efforts of Japanese and American companies (i) Keynote speech: 'Japan's vision and actions toward hydrogen-based economy' (9:10-9:20)

Mr. Kihara Shinichi, Deputy Commissioner for International Affairs, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Japan

(ii) Keynote speech: 'Overview of U.S.'s hydrogen policies' (9:20-9:30)

Ms. Elizabeth Urbanas, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia and the Americas, Department of Energy, United States of America

(iii) Keynote speeches and dialog by Japanese and U.S. companies (9:30-9:55)

• Mr. Ogawa Tetsuo, President and CEO, Toyota Motor North America (TMNA)
• Mr. Andy Walz, President, Chevron's Americas Fuels & Lubricants
  (Moderator: Ms. Ivana Jemelkova, Managing Director, FTI Consulting)

(3) About J-Bridge (9:55-9:58)

Ms. Kawada Mio, Director-General, Invest Japan Department, JETRO

(4) Part 2: Toward a partnership in the hydrogen business (i) Business development of new decarbonization technologies through cooperation between Japanese and U.S. companies (in a dialog format)(9:58-10:13)

• Mr. Fukuizumi Yasushi, Senior Executive Fellow and Vice President of Energy Systems, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Mr. Rob Hanson, Co-founder and CEO, Monolith Materials
  (Moderator: Mr. Ryosuke 'Ricky' Sakai, VP of New Business Development, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America)

(ii) Pitches by U.S. companies to Japanese companies(10:13-10:41)

• FirstElement Fuel Inc.
• Universal Hydrogen Co.
• Plug Power Inc.
• SimpleFuel - PDC Machines Inc.

(5) Q&A session (10:41-10:55) (6) Closing remarks (10:55-11:00)

Mr. Sasaki Nobuhiko, Chairman and CEO, JETRO

3. How to participate

If you wish to participate, please refer to this URL(in Japanese) for more information.

4. About press coverage

If you are a member of the press and wish to cover the event, please contact the following by email or phone.

JETRO DX Promotion Team
Phone: [phone] (Direct)
Email: [e-mail]

Division in Charge

Investment Facilitation Division, Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau

Related website

• Trade and Investment Promotion