On December 24, 2019, Mr. Shinichi Yokoyama, State Minister for Reconstruction toured FREA.
Welcome remarks and introductory overviews of AIST were given by Terunobu Yamauchi, Vice-President of AIST, and overviews of FREA were presented by Masaru Nakaiwa, Director-General of FREA.
Following these formalities, State Minister Yokoyama proceeded to laboratory tour, and was explained about the Program for Promoting Technologies Invented by Industry in Disaster Areas in Tohoku* by a local company (INFINI Co. Ltd. in Naraha, Fukushima) who developed a product through this support program.
Then, Hirohide Furutani, Director of the Renewable Energy Research Center (RENRC), introduced various research themes in the Outdoor Demonstration Field and the Energy Control Building.
*FREA provides support for commercializing renewable energy related technologies and know-how developed by companies located in the three prefectures struck by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami (Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures).
https://www.aist.go.jp/fukushima/ja/seeds/ (*This site is available only in Japanese.)
State Minister Yokoyama (right) listening to an explanation of a product developed by a local company
State Minister Yokoyama (center) listening to an explanation of research activities in the Energy Control Building