Missions & Business Forums

On Wednesday November 27, the Japan-India Energy Conservation and CO2 Emission Reduction Business Forum was held in Chennai, India, under the support of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), JICA, the Tamil Nadu State Government (FaMeTN) and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chennai. The event was designed to introduce highly efficient energy-saving and CO2 emission reduction technologies and equipment utilizing natural gas, as well as other energy-saving and CO2 emission reduction solutions, and to promote exchanges with local companies and other potential customers through individual company booth exhibits and networking to introduce and deploy Japanese products and technologies.

The event was held only at the actual venue in order to promote exchanges, and a total of about 130 people, 70-plus participants including Tamil Nadu government officials, 40 people from 10 presenting companies and about 20 people from the organizers, gathered for plenary presentations and individual meetings. The majority of the participants and presenting companies evaluated the event as a good opportunity to gain a foothold for future business development and for searching potential business partners.

Japanese Business Alliance for Smart Energy Worldwide (JASE-W) participated as a partner sponsor in the "Building Green 2024" conference hosted by the Philippine Green Building Council (PhilGBC) from September 26 to 27, 2024.

This conference was held in Davao City, Mindanao, and JASE-W participated based on the Memorandum of Understanding on the Promotion of Zero Energy Buildings (ZEBs) in the Philippines, which JASE-W and PhilGBC signed in April 2024.

At the conference, the ZEB Solutions Working Group leader presented an overview and the latest information on the ZEB technical specification (TS23764). In addition, Azbil Philippines introduced its energy management technology.

On the afternoon of the 27th, we visited the DEMOSA headquarters building, a real estate company that is also a member of the Philippine Green Building Council, to experience a real green building.

PhilGBC is actively working on greening buildings and achieving ZEBs. JASE-W will continue strengthening its cooperative relationship with PhilGBC and promoting the spread of ZEBs in the Philippines.

On Thursday, September 18, 2024, a ZEB workshop entitled "Workshop on Zero Energy Building (ZEB) Development Program" was held in a conference room and online on the campus of Hanoi University of Civil Engineering under the auspices of the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction. The event was attended by about 70 participants in person and about 80 online. The theme of the workshop was to consider benchmarks for Vietnam, referencing benchmark systems for building energy consumption in Japan and Europe.

On the Japanese side, a greeting was delivered by an official from the International Affairs Division, of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, followed by a presentation on Japan's ZEB initiatives, including the benchmark system and an overview of TS23764. On the Vietnamese side, the Director General of the Science, Technology, and Environment Department of the Ministry of Construction gave a greeting and a presentation on the current state of energy-saving measures in Vietnamese buildings, as well as on reducing emissions from buildings. Additionally, a professor from the University of Wolverhampton in the UK provided an online presentation on benchmarks in the UK and Europe.

JASE-W will continue to collaborate with the Hanoi University of Civil Engineering and the Ministry of Construction to develop a regulatory framework for the promotion of ZEBs in Vietnam, thereby improving the market environment.

On July 25, a Workshop on "Zero Energy Building ( ZEB) Development Program" in Bangkok  collaborating with the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE) under the Ministry of Energy,Thailand was held.

From the Japanese side, Mr. Yoshino, Director of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), gave a welcome speech and introduction from Japanese speakers on the measures and legal system for ZEB initiatives, an overview of TS23764 and its updates, and Japanese technical products were made. From the Thais side, Mr. Wongwanasana, Head of the Energy Regulations and Energy Saving Department of DEDE, gave a speech and the director of DEDE introduced energy-saving initiatives for buildings in Thailand, the DEDE's ZEB building, which was newly built last year, and the Siam Cement Group's zero-emission initiatives are intorduced.

The number of applicants exceeded 100, so the number of seats was increased to 80. It showed  that the interest in ZEB in Thailand is growing. The day before the event, the participants visited DEDE's ZEB building and Shell's headquarters building in Thailand, which won the ZEB award at the ASEAN Energy Awards 2022, to see examples of ZEB implementation in Thailand.

We will continue to work with the Thais side to promote ZEB in Thailand.

On July 10, the Japan-Arab Economic Forum was held in Tokyo under the joint sponsorship by the Japanese government and the League of Arab States. Mr Nobuaki Aoyama, a Chairman of the JASE-W Planning and Operating Committee, participated as one of the panelists in the Day-1 conference session to discuss Climate Change, and he introduced JASE-W activities and addressed the importance of worldwide deployment of energy-saving and renewable technologies by Japanese companies.

The side event was also held on the previous day, and presentations by JASE-W companies and experts on hydrogen, ammonia, and other innovative energy technologies and fruitful questions and answers were carried out.

The Working Group dispatched a field research mission on water and wastewater energy conservation in Turkey from September 18 to 23, 2023, in cooperation with the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME).

In Turkey, recovery from the big earthquake is a priority issue, but energy conservation is also a keyword due to soaring energy prices and exchange rate fluctuations.

Six member companies of the working group and local offices of JICA and JBIC participated in the mission and visited ISKI in Istanbul and ASKI in Ankara, the regional water and sewage treatment and supplying authorities in Turkey, to introduce high-efficiency energy-saving equipment owned by member companies and to propose introduction of such equipment.

In addition, the mission visited water and sewage treatment plants and pumping stations to survey existing facilities, their operational status, and future installation plan.

The mission also visited local government-affiliated banks and public financing institutions to discuss the status of investment and financing and issues. 

The results of this mission and the connections with the local community will be used to develop concrete proposals for the future.

On September 7 and 8, 2023, JASE-W, jointly with JICA, visited the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department, Government of Tamil Nadu State and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power India, to introduce high-efficiency energy-saving equipment and to propose the introduction of Japanese standard once-through boilers.

This is in line with JICA's investment promotion support program for the Tamil Nadu government to promote the greening of industry (including establishment of a subsidy system to encourage the introduction of energy-saving and CO2 emission-reducing technologies), which is currently under development, as JASE-W explained its technical collection book, followed by the Power and Heat Management Working Group explained about energy-saving equipment that uses natural gas, and JASE-W introduced the energy-saving equipment proposed by other member companies of JASE-W. 

　　Meeting scene

On December 13, JASE-W and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) jointly visited the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) in Jakarta, to introduce the activities of its three working groups namely, Renewables and Distributed Power Source, Power Grid Improvement and Geothermal, all which are promoting Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) activities in the country. The MEMR high officials, including the Director General of the New and Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and Electricity, attended and expressed their support for AZEC and gave specific comments on each project from the authority's point of view, and the meaningful discussion was conducted.

On November 9, the ZEB Solution WG of the Japanese Business Alliance for Smart Energy Worldwide with VSSE (Vietnam Sustainability Social Enterprise), held an online seminar for Vietnamese private businesses. "Realizing zero energy building standardization" seminar was successfully held with more than 120 participants on the Zoom platform.

In the seminar, speakers explained methods, solutions, and experiences in developing zero-energy buildings through the lifecycle of planning, design, construction, and operation, followed by a question-and-answer session, contributing to raising awareness and building a network for future ZEB promotion in Vietnam.

JASE-W participated in the International Sustainability Energy Summit 2022, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to promote Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB) with SEDA. In the presence of the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources (YB Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Bin Hassan), SEDA and the Japanese Business Alliance for Smart Energy Worldwide held a renewal and signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the promotion of ZEB.

Currently, SEDA is establishing a program and certification system for promoting ZEB in Malaysia and has started studying demonstration projects with the ZEB Solution WG of the Japanese Business Alliance for Smart Energy Worldwide to enable ZEB demonstrations.

At this year's summit, the Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources gave opening speeches on the energy transition toward realizing carbon neutrality in 2050. They gave the order to work toward carbon neutrality.

We will continue to move forward with ZEB projects.