On September 16 and 17, 2025, our colleague Moritz Eickhoff took part in the “H₂ industry Norway – Japan Workshop” in Tokyo. The workshop focused on the industrial use of hydrogen and the exchange between Norwegian and Japanese partners.
As part of his participation, Moritz presented the HyInHeat project, which will be carried out in cooperation with Norwegian project partners until the end of 2026. The project aims to decarbonize industrial high-temperature processes – particularly in the steel and aluminum industries – through the integration of hydrogen technologies. The Horizon Europe sister project H₂Glass was also discussed in the context of Norwegian collaborations.
Of particular note was the presentation by Junichi Sato, who presented the “Decarbonized Industrial Thermo-System Center (DITS)”. His approach showed interesting overlaps with the HyInHeat approach and, more generally, with the research activities at the IOB, which opens up the possibility of an exchange on the similarities and differences between the two approaches.
The presentations were followed by a round-table discussion, during which possible areas of application for hydrogen and potential opportunities and risks were discussed in depth. This open exchange provided a platform for new ideas and collaborations.
On the second day of the workshop, the program included a tour of a Nippon Steel steelworks, followed by a joint lunch, which provided further opportunity for networking.
We would like to thank Nicola Paltrinieri and Federico Ustolin for organizing this successful event, as well as Tadahiro Shibutani for his support and organization on site. We look forward to further expanding our cooperation with our network partners and incorporating the insights gained into our work.