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お知らせ記事 2026/09/18

Announcement of the 8th RD20 Conference

Key Points

First-Ever RD20 Conference in Africa: An international conference where leading research institutions from G20 countries and regions discuss clean energy technologies and international collaboration
The 8th RD20 Conference will be hosted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of South Africa in Pretoria, South Africa, in a hybrid format combining in-person and online participation
The technical sessions, which focus on cutting-edge technologies, will discuss clean energy areas closely related to the African region

Overview

The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) promotes RD20 (Research and Development 20 for Clean Energy Technologies), an initiative to foster international R&D
collaboration toward carbon neutrality together with major research institutions from G20 countries and regions.

The 8th RD20 Conference will be held from October 19 to 23, 2026, in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa, with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) serving as the host institution. This will be the first time for RD20 to be held on the African continent.

At the conference, experts from research institutions in participating countries and regions will discuss the current status and challenges of R&D on topics including energy access, synthetic fuels, and critical minerals for energy. Open public sessions will also be available online.

Dates	October 19–23 (Mon-Fri), 2026
Venue	CSIR, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa
Format	In-person and online
Details and registration	https://rd20.aist.go.jp/conference/

Session lineup
October 19 (Mon)	Workshop #1: AI for Energy: An extended session building on the discussion from the workshop held in Korea in April	By invitation only
October 20 (Tue)	Technical Session (TS) Plenary: High-Level Talks on Clean Energy Technologies	(Open to the public)
	TS #1: Energy Access—Innovative Solutions for Africa	(Open to the public)
	TS #2: Synthetic Fuels	(Open to the public)
October 21 (Wed)	TS #3: Critical Minerals for Energy	(Open to the public)
October 21 (Wed)	Workshop #2: Clean Hydrogen and Its Derivatives	By invitation only
October 22 (Thu)	Leaders Session	Morning: Open to the public Afternoon: By invitation only
October 23 (Fri)	Site visits	By invitation only

Keynote Speakers for Technical Session (Plenary)

	Ms. Mandy Mlilo, Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation (DSTI), South Africa DSTI Hydrogen & Energy Research, Development and Innovation Initiatives
	Prof. Philippe POGGI, University of Corsica/CEA, France Research, Businesses and Innovation in Overseas Territories: Smart Grids and Energy Transition
	Prof. Dr. Christopher Hebling, Fraunhofer-ISE, Germany Pathways to Climate Neutrality Through Renewables and Decarbonized Fossil Energy

Appendix

Flyer for the 8th RD20 International Conference

Commentary

RD20: Launched in 2019 under Japan's leadership, RD20 is a framework through which leading research institutions from G20 countries and regions at the forefront of technological development promote international collaboration in research and development toward achieving carbon neutrality.
RD20 provides opportunities for participants to exchange R&D activities, experiences, and best practices related to clean energy technologies across countries and regions, as well as to explore the potential for international joint research. It also serves to deepen and develop new partnerships among relevant industry, academia, and government stakeholders.

CSIR: The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, one of the largest research institutions in Africa.

RD20 member institutions

INTI (Argentina), CSIRO (Australia), UFSCar (Brazil), NRC (Canada), DICP (China), JRC (EU), CEA (France), CNRS (France), Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (Germany), Fraunhofer ISE (Germany), HZB (Germany), TERI (India), BRIN (Indonesia), ENEA (Italy), CINVESTAV (Mexico), KIER (Korea), KACARE (Saudi Arabia), CSIR (Republic of South Africa), TÜBİTAK (Turkey), UKERC (UK), NLR (USA), NIMS (Japan), RIKEN (Japan), AIST (Japan)

Contact

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
Global Zero Emission Research Center (GZR), Research Planning Office of Zero Emission
Email: M-rd20secretariat-ml*aist.go.jp (Please replace * with @ to use.)

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