The Center for Rare Earths Research was established to promote research on the search for new applications and effective utilization of rare earths, and to solve urgent issues that are common to all of humankind from the viewpoint of materials engineering. The Center is an extremely unique presence as Japan’s only research institute specializing in rare earths.
The predecessor of the Center was the “Renewable Energy Materials Science and Sustainable Materials Development Related to Rare Earths” intramural priority research project, which was conducted in FY 2010 and 2011. The project gathered faculty members specializing in different fields in an interdisciplinary manner to elucidate the roles of rare earths with the manifestation of the functions and properties of materials, present methods of effective use and recycling of rare earths, and search for technologies to replace rare earth elements with other elements and new functions displayed by rare earths. The Muroran Materials creative education program, which involved the project from the drafting stage, was adopted as one of the subjects of special budget requests by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and was launched in FY 2012. The education program, which is currently known as the Rare Earth Materials Education Program, is providing practical education with the purpose of fostering researchers and engineers who can play active roles in the environment and energy fields. The Research Center for Environmentally Friendly Materials Engineering was then established in FY 2012, to follow on the principles of the program and further develop and improve research and education activities. In 2019, the center was renamed to the current “Center for Rare Earths Research” to present its purposes more clearly.
The task of the Center is to address urgent issues that are common to all humankind, including the search for and effective use of new applications of rare earths, the realization of an energy-saving society from the viewpoint of materials engineering and the reduction of greenhouse gases. While engaging in research and development of thermoelectric conversion, superconducting, hydrogen absorbing alloy and other energy-saving materials, the Center aims to advance into new fields, such as the search for new functions of rare earths using machine learning and agriculture-industry cooperation projects. Promotion of the Center as an international hub is also implemented to strengthen worldwide rare earth joint research systems and foster global human resources. Academic exchange agreements have been concluded with the Ames Laboratory (USA), Ioffe Physico-Technolcal Institute (Russia), Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry (Russia) and University of Genova (Italy), with which active exchanges are conducted through the promotion of international joint research, invitation/dispatch of young researchers and other activities.
The Center expects that an understanding of each other’s research fields will be facilitated among researchers of different specialties, that a multidisciplinary viewpoint and sense of unity will be cultivated in each researcher by having shared goals, and that the achievement of such goals will be accelerated as a result. The Center will continue to contribute to the regional society by promoting research on effective use of rare earths and creating new technologies and industries based on the research results. It also intends to promote awareness-raising and education on materials research and the establishment of a cooperation system with companies and research institutes in Japan and abroad. We hope to have your continued support in the future.