“To ensure our quality of life in daily lives, to manufacture, and to develop, us living in more developed part of the world rely on the stable supply of electricity. However, 940 million people remain without access to electricity. If you are in a low income household, there is more than 60% chance that you will not have an access to electricity.

Still, access to energy is a basic human need, recognized by the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030. Recognizing the importance of energy in one’s quality of life, as well as the need for investment in long term development led by young students and their education, First Access was began by three students of the University of Tokyo in 2006. Since then, we have delivered over 1,000 solar lanterns to the children who need them the most.

This year, our Tokyo Carbon Conference marks the 10th anniversary. The topics discussed in the conference ranged from smart community and digital grids to the prospect of geothermal energy in Africa to solar energy. We would like to express a deep gratitude to the participating companies of this event who were willing to share their insights and especially the sponsor companies of our project. It was only possible because there was a shared understanding among our members and the numerous supporters that we should cooperate and proceed towards sustainable and more equitable development.

We hope our solar lamps can brighten the lives of young students, the future of their countries and also the way towards sustainable society for all of us.”

“In March 2018, First Access dispatched a first student led field research group to Africa. They visited Nairobi, Kenya in order to conduct a energy usage status survey as well as to check on utilization of our solar lanterns donated to marginalized children living in non-electrified regions.

We found out that our partner orphanage in Nairobi which were reported to be located in non-electrified region was in fact connected to the national grid. Yet, they are suffering from frequent disconnection due to the instability in transmission infrastructure, facility failures from heavy rain, and stealing of electricity by village residents.

Under these circumstances, we could confirm that the solar lanterns donated to Patmos Junior School have been immensely helpful for children’s education and the daily lives of their neighborhood. Personally, the site visit experience allowed me to reinforce my will to continue and further develop the donation activities of First Access.”

“As of June 2018, Brazil has an advanced low carbon economy where renewable energy account for 87.8% of the energy produced domestically.

The country is famous for its hydroelectric power and ethanol-fueled vehicles. However, they accelerate Amazon's deforestation and farmland devastation are progressing, and the government has been taking measures to tackle these issues. In this situation, although the ratio for photovoltaic power generation is currently smaller than that of hydropower and ethanol, its market size has rapidly expanded over the past two to three years as equipment prices have fallen over approximately 80%. The market growth recorded 1,000% in the past several years.

Solar power generation is expected to play a larger role in Brazil in the future, but further technological advancement is indispensable. In this regard, technical cooperation with Japan will become increasingly important.”

The second half of presentation was delivered on behalf of SMA Solar Technology, the primary sponsor for 2018 Tokyo Carbon Conference. After giving a brief overview of the company and its history, Mr. Ijuin introduced their main product, Power Conditioning System (PCS) which has a broad lineup of commercial (small and large) and residential products. SMA Solar also manufactures optimizer, and the delivery units has reached a total of 65 GW so far.

The topic moved onto the importance of inverter. He described that along with the global technological trend shift towards decentralized power generation, inverters at solar power plants are also becoming increasingly decentralized. Also, he pointed out that the focus of solar power generation itself has evolved from simple “power generation” to “consumption of energy created”. SMA Solar is expected to have comparative advantage in this coming era of smart power generation and consumption environment. He concluded by a remark that: “If you choose an inverter by only based on low cost, it will fail when dealing with renewable energy”.

During the following Q&A session, a representative from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia asked about the details of financial support provided by the Japanese government. He emphasized, "We would like the transfer of not only equipment but also technology itself to Africa, so that we can be a driver of sustainable development with our own knowledge and resources one day". During the short break after his presentation, many diplomats were forming a long line in front of Mr. Ijuin.

For our new model announced in June earlier this year, the weight was reduced by a factor of 10 compared to the existing ones, and its outstanding flexibility greatly expanded the possibilities of installation sites. Furthermore, it achieved the world's largest area for a single module (24.15cm×29.10cm、Area 703cm2) and energy conversion efficiency of 11.7%. We are now aiming for energy conversion efficiency of 20% and higher. Efficient and affordable film-type perovskite solar cell will allow us to generate electricity with solar power from places that were not considered in the past, such as a roof that cannot withstand the weight of glass windows and solar panels. In terms of transportation and installation, light-weight solar cell “rolls” would be much more convenient as well. Contrary to how regular solar panels require professionals for installation, our goal is to create film-type PSC can generate electricity simply by unrolling and placing the film on the desired surface, thereby increasing the accessibility.

Our R&D center is also working on “H2 One” project to develop a power storage system using hydrogen energy as a new axis of renewable energy. These researches are conducted in line with the environmental vision of Toshiba Group to realize a low carbon society which strives to coexist with nature.”