Kyoto University · Engineering
Professor Benjamin McLellan's research lab focuses on sustainable energy systems, with a strong emphasis on the environmental, economic, and geopolitical dimensions of critical materials such as rare earth elements and the role of green hydrogen in decarbonizing energy systems. The lab investigates the sustainability of supply chains for strategic materials, the cost trajectories and technological pathways for green hydrogen production via electrolysis, and the resilience of energy infrastructure in the face of natural disasters. A central theme is the integration of life cycle assessment, systems thinking, and policy analysis to support the transition to low-carbon, resilient, and secure energy systems.
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Rare Earths (RE) have been the focus of much attention in recent years as a consequence of a number of converging factors, prominent among which are: centralization of supply (in China), unique applications in high-end technologies particularly in the low-carbon energy industry, and global demand outstripping availability. Despite this focus, RE supply chain sustainability has not been examined in depth or in any systematic manner. This paper provides an initial review of RE sustainability consi
Global climate change concerns have pushed international governmental actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by adopting cleaner technologies, hoping to transition to a more sustainable society. The hydrogen economy is one potential long-term option for enabling deep decarbonization for the future energy landscape. Progress towards an operating hydrogen economy is discouragingly slow despite global efforts to accelerate it. There are major mismatches between the present situation surrounding
A sustainable future hydrogen economy hinges on the development of green hydrogen and the shift away from grey hydrogen, but this is highly reliant on reducing production costs, which are currently too high for green hydrogen to be competitive. This study predicts the cost trajectory of alkaline and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers based on ongoing research and development (R&D), scale effects, and experiential learning, consequently influencing the levelized cost of hydrogen (LC
The natural and subsequent human disasters of March 11, 2011 in Japan have brought into focus more than ever the importance of resilience and risk mitigation in the construction of energy infrastructure. This article introduces some of the critical issues and discusses the implications of energy in alleviating or exacerbating the risks of natural disasters. Additionally, it presents a framework for considering the risks of energy systems from a broad perspective. The connection is drawn between
Rare Earths have been of considerable interest in recent years for a variety of reasons, in particular due to concerns over the security of supply for modern high efficiency electronics and energy technologies. Such concerns have placed them among the list of “critical” or “strategic” elements in countries such as the United States of America, the European Union, Japan and even in the largest producer and holder of reserves, China. Focus has been given to the environmental impacts of production,
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