On 25 October 2017, the Graduate School of Agriculture (GSA) and NTT Data Institute of Management Consulting, Inc, announced the launch of a Green Energy Farm Industry-University Co-Creation Partnership (GEFP), aimed at realizing and promoting "energy-generation and farming-utilization", at a press conference held at Kyoto University's Tokyo office.
Comprised of 23 regular members, and based at GSA's experimental farm in Kizugawa, Kyoto, GEFP seeks to transform agriculture from an energy-intensive industry to an "energy-generating" one -- an industry that not only consumes less fossil fuels but contributes to energy self-sufficiency of the surrounding communities.
The GEFP project will also provide an interdisciplinary research and development platform spanning four fields: 1) agriculture/energy co-production technology, 2) energy storage technology, 3) energy management technology, and 4) regionally decentralized energy society and economic system. By combining technologies and knowledge from diverse disciplines and industries, the platform is expected to facilitate collaboration in research and business development toward the creation of new industries and business models, which will be based on "agriculture/energy co-production" and a "recycling-oriented/decentralized energy value chain".
GSA Dean Eiji Nawata (left) and Mr Yuji Kawashima, president and CEO of NTT DATA Institute of Management Consulting, Inc, at the press conference
Representatives of GEFP member organizations
GEFP launch meeting
Professor Akira Kitajima of the GSA Experimental Farm delivering a presentation
