REPORT OF THE 1ST ELEMENT STRATEGY INITIATIVEADVISORY COUNCIL (ESIAC)
Chair: Hidetoshi Fukuyama
Reviewers: M. Coey, T. Miyazaki, H.-J. Freund, M. Tada, J.-M. Tarascon, T. Osaka,
D. Ginley, M. Takigawa, P. Gumbsch, Y. Tomota
Advisers: M. Takata, T. Kanaya, S. Tsuneyuki

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The 1st meeting of the Element Strategy Initiative Advisory Council (ESIAC) wasconvened on 14 December, 2019 at TKP Garden City Premium, Yokohama Landmark
Tower, 25F, following the open forum to introduce the activities of the Element Strategy
Initiative (ESI) to the public on the preceding day.
We commend Program Director (PD) Kohei Tamao and the members of the coreresearch centers for their ongoing efforts towards the progress of the Element Strategy
Initiative Project (ESI-PJ).
The ESI-PJ was established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scienceand Technology, Japan (MEXT) in 2012 with the aim of “expanding the science ofelements, which clarifies the functions and properties of materials, into a broad rangeof studies focusing on industrial applications in an effort to solve our resource
problems”.
In order to accomplish this not-easy task, MEXT formulated a project through theformation of four core research centers each with an individual focus, on magnets,
catalysis/batteries, functional electronic materials, or structural materials. In eachcenter, experts were selected across traditional research disciplines to form threegroups, on material synthesis, measurement, and electronic theory/modeling. These
groups were chosen to facilitate effective collaboration and pursue synergetic effects
in close contact with industry. Collaborations with large-scale research infrastructuresuch as SPring-8/SACLA, J-PARC and super-computers were encouraged. Efforts tofoster the next generation of scientists were encouraged, not only within each centerbut also among centers; this was expected to lead to the formation of a platform formaterials science.
Hence the ESI-PJ is not merely a collection of individual research projects carried out
by funding agencies, but a higher-level collaboration intended to reform research
structure in Japan. MEXT’s introduction of this particular vison into academic
institutions has had great impact on both academia and industry, and allows scientific1seeds and social needs to meet more naturally than before, thus lowering the barriers
between them. MEXT is to be applauded for this initiative.
The ESI-PJ is expected to act as a model to promote materials science research in the
coming years in Japan. In this context it should be noted that, even though the ESI-PJ
was triggered partly by the shortage of rare elements, the core concept of the projectis to explore the possibilities of materials with green (abundant and non-toxic)
elements and it is thus expected to play a key role in achieving the UN Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
ESIAC was asked to assess the research activities of the ESI-PJ over the past 8 years
for a possible successful ending in 2022.
Program Director (PD) Tamao asked ESIAC for its opinions and recommendations on
the research activities, management, and performance of the project, under thefollowing terms of reference.
TERMS OF REFERENCE (TORs)(1) Appropriateness of organizational structure and management(2) Assessment of activities of each core center(3) Comprehensive advice for the future of materials science in Japan from aninternational perspective
Observations and recommendations regarding TOR2 and those under TOR1 specificto each center are first summarized for each center in turn. Those under TOR3 andthose under TOR1 that address the ESI-PJ as a whole are summarized at the end.

Observations and Recommendations
ESICMM: Satoshi Hirosawa[TOR2] Assessment of activities of each core center
The mission of ESICMM is 1) to establish a long-term research center on the basic
materials science of permanent magnets and 2) to lay out the fundamental
technologies and knowledge in this field and disseminate them among scientists inindustry.
Specific goals are i) realization of ultimate permanent magnet materials, ii) realizationof permanent magnet materials based on new Fe-rich compositions, iii) establishmentof the basic science of permanent magnet materials, iv) dissemination and transfer of
outputs into industry, noting that the basic ingredients for generating coercivity, thekey feature of a permanent magnet, are internal energy barriers.
ESIAC recognizes that this center has responded very well to the original TORs. The
research results are excellent and world-leading. They include:1) Success with Dy-free magnets by grain-boundary engineering (infiltration) with awise focus on the optimization of Nd-Fe-B. This focus was triggered by a2

paradigm shift due to the discovery of ferromagnetism at the grain boundary byelectron holography and XMCD. This is a great achievement of the Center.
2) Discovery of new 1-12-type compounds.
3) Progress on the very difficult problem of coercivity by combining micromagnetic
simulation with atomic simulation of one grain.
4) Synergetic efforts to find a new processing route, grain boundary infiltration, andidentification of new phases with theoretical contributions and a systematic
thermodynamic database.
5) Success in communicating with the broader materials synthesis community at
Tohoku Univ., Kyoto Univ. and NIMS.
6) Establishment of a vision for a core center for academia-industry cooperation on
permanent magnets.
The following are the comments of ESIAC regarding further development of thisCenter.
1) In order to gain more insight into the grain boundary phases, accurate informationin modeling and experiment will be needed.
2) Activities across centers are encouraged.
3) The Center should take note of recycling and develop a more integrated vision
regarding sustainability/resources, including end of life-cycle assessment for new
products.
4) More researchers may be needed to work on material synthesis.
5) The Center may need to think in future beyond materials synthesis and about thegeneralization of the process science.
[TOR1] Appropriateness of organizational structure and management
ESIAC understands that the Center is well managed and integrated, and has very
creative collaboration with SPring-8. It also has a good vision, with emphasis on
science and creative contacts with industry, and this has led to the uptake of early
results by industry.
ESIAC recommends that this Center collaborates with other centers for possible
improvements to catalytic activities through the application of magnetic fields, and to
apply grain-boundary engineering to interface design of alloy anodes in batteries.
ESIAC expects that this Center will contribute to the revitalization of the magnetic
materials community in Japan.
For further development, ESIAC notes that:
1) There are too few patents and the Center lacks a patent strategy.
2) More exchange of investigators/students between institutions is encouraged.
3) Regarding recycling, the Center needs to talk to industry to develop a strategy,
especially in the context of life-cycle analysis.
4) Collaboration/competition areas between academia/industry should mutually
be made clear.
5) The collaboration between ESICMM and MagHEM (NEDO) projects should
be made clearer.
6) Cultivation of the younger generation of human resources is necessary.
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TIES: Hideo Hosono[TOR2] Assessment of activities of each core center
ESIAC congratulates this Center for the many substantial scientific achievements
based on the vision of the leader, H. Hosono. These include: 1) overcoming traditional
material design concepts rooted in past experience, 2) exploring the frontier inelectronic materials by unconventional combinations of abundant and non-toxic
elements, 3) establishing new design concepts and guidelines for further advancementof material technologies.
A well-defined roadmap for the comprehensive exploration of materials in the first 3
years (phase 1), was followed by materials selection in phase 2. Four focus areas were
presented as phase 3, with a view to collaboration with industry. These are i)semiconductors, ii) high κ dielectrics/ferroelectrics, iii) hydrogen, and iv)
collaboration between theory and synthesis together with rapid screening throughmaterials informatics.
About 20 examples were introduced to ESIAC, which regarded the results overall as abrilliant set of materials with complex functionality, especially the 2d electrides,
amorphous zinc silicate, hafnium oxide (not a perovskite, and stable at hightemperature), achieved through daily collaborations (involving students) with nearby
research institutes, NIMS and KEK-PF. However, ESIAC was disappointed with theprogress in focusing on core concepts or the selection of particularly promisingmaterials for industrial application. It noted that the Center has made little reference
to the original TORs and obviously lacks focus.
ESIAC notes that the results are great basic science and provide very nice examples
of uniting synthesis and many analytical techniques to solve a series of important
problems. Hosono could be considered as a national treasure.
At the same time, ESIAC notes that Hosono’s very strong leadership might be seen tohave more benefit if the role and achievements of specific PIs had been more clearlypresented.
[TOR1] Appropriateness of organizational structure and management
The Center director demonstrates an inspiring scientific leadership. ESIAC would liketo have seen cooperation between centers through, for example, ammonia synthesis.
In order to avoid overloading the leader, ESIAC suggests the appointment of a deputy(someone with experience in industry) and/or administrative support for outreach,
intellectual property, and industrial contacts.
ESIAC appreciates that this Center is active in pursuing synergetic effects involving
the younger generation including monthly meetings, a camp meeting, andinternational expansion through the JSPS Core-to-Core Program. It also has a clear
plan to develop an Electronic Materials Institute after the ESI-PJ ends.
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ESISM: Isao Tanaka[TOR2] Assessment of activities of each core center
ESIAC appreciates the courage of this Center in addressing the old but very difficult
problem of overcoming the competition between ductility and strength. Instead of
adding extra elements as is commonly done, the Center is trying to achieve this target
by focusing on bulk nano-materials (BNM). On the basis of the discovery ofenhanced ductility in systems consisting of nano-grains that cannot be understood bysimple dislocation theory, the Center proposes a concept based on plastons, acollective motion of atoms. Through experiments on the size dependences of plastic
deformation modes in Mg, a plaston diagram has been proposed, and the plaston
concept has been extended to brittle materials.
ESIAC recognizes very remarkable progress with the development of nanostructured
strong yet ductile steels, Mg-, and Ti-alloys. On the computational side, the software“phonopy” has quickly found widespread use and international recognition.
However, ESIAC considers the plaston concept to be ill defined, and not a workedout theory/model. For example, the size and pattern of spatial deformations probably
results from several competing known mechanisms that have not yet been clarified
experimentally. On the theoretical side, ESIAC was confused by the explanation of
the plaston nucleation process at grain boundaries based on first principles phonon
calculations of ideal bulk crystals. The transition from plaston to known defects ordeformation modes has not been worked out.
ESIAC has some concerns that the PD’s recommendations reinforce the plaston
concept because the Center was approved with plaston as a keyword. ESIAC
encourages the Center to cope with the great challenge to exploit collective atomic
motion in generating ductility in BNM. ESIAC recommends pursuing further work to
identify and quantify the basic concepts demonstrated to date, especially making use
of national facilities like SPring-8 and J-PARC, without relying on the linguistics of aplaston concept.
[TOR1] Appropriateness of organizational structure and management
ESIAC did not understand why this Center had significantly fewer resources madeavailable to it than the other centers. ESIAC recommends enhancing
contacts/interactions with industry through internships, visits, and meetings (hosting
industry researchers in their labs), and involving NIMS more in the Center.
ESICB: Tsunehiro Tanaka[TOR2] Assessment of activities of each core center
This Center is unique in having two research areas, catalysis and batteries. The aimsof this Center are 1) development of high-performance catalysts with reduced use orwithout the use of critical elements, 2) development of rechargeable critical-element5

free high-performance batteries, 3) elucidation of guiding principles and descriptionof the processes during catalysis and battery operation.
The Center has outstanding achievements. In catalysis, the development of non-PGM
heterogeneous catalysts, Rh nano-films, and Mn-YbFeO3 in a three-way-catalyst(TWC) are noteworthy. The planned activities in electrocatalysis are also noteworthy
and should be encouraged. In batteries, the fact that the development of a Na battery
and the first verification of its full-cell operation have been carried out by one of the
PI’s of this Center is noteworthy. The discovery of super-concentrated electrolytes ispioneering and innovative, and further development is expected once the international
perspective has been properly incorporated.
ESIAC recommends the use of a variety of characterization tools (quantum beam,
synchrotron, UV/VISs, IR, AFM, etc.) to strengthen the research activity on PGMfree catalysis.
[TOR1] Appropriateness of organizational structure and management
This Center has unique opportunities with its two groups focusing on catalysis andbatteries. These groups have quite different backgrounds, and there is no other similar
example in the world. ESIAC applauds the interaction between the catalysis andbattery parts of the Center.
Noting that they have commonalities in analysis, ESIAC notes that there is a goodchance for the Center, especially the young researchers, to develop new ideas throughinteraction between the two parts of the Center, starting with collaborations between
catalyst theory and battery theory. Collaboration with other centers, for example,
collaboration with ESICMM for possible improvements to catalytic activities throughthe application of magnetic fields and for the application of grain-boundary
engineering to interface design in batteries, and with TIES on catalytic materials, suchas those for ammonia synthesis, would be creative.
PD: Kohei Tamao[TOR1] Appropriateness of organizational structure and management[TOR3] Comprehensive advice for the future of materials science in Japan from aninternational perspective
ESIAC thinks that the realization of the 10-year ESI-PJ with very talented scientists is
excellent. The program is large enough to pick multiple important directions forJapanese industry.
In order to best achieve the project goals, however, there should be an overarching
management structure. With more active overall management, synergetic effects
could be realized in various stages, first within each Center and then among the fourCenters, together with active collaborations with large-scale research facilities,
synchrotron, quantum beams, and computational science. To unite the Centers, it isnecessary to build bridges between them.

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ESIAC encourages more cooperative actions to foster the younger generation andencourage female participation with an international perspective. In this context, aproperly motivated central office could provide umbrella resources to the various
projects, reducing administrative loads and serving as a nexus for communication andcross-fertilization.
More concretely,1) ESIAC thinks that an international review like the present one should havebeen held much earlier, in view of the importance of the project and numbersof researchers involved.
2) ESIAC assumes that the present ESIAC report will be submitted not only to
the PD, but also to all those in MEXT and the core centers who are involvedin the ESI-PJ.
3) ESIAC thinks that it would be useful to have presented statistical informationon the numbers of researchers, projects, publications, expenditure by categoryetc. for all centers in a uniform format.
4) Common metrics (not concepts but quantified metrics) are needed for all
centers to put them all on the same playing field.
5) Key questions are:
How is the budget allocated?
What is the hiring policy? Is it systematic?
What are the overarching goals for all Centers?
6) Money should be put aside to nucleate seed activities.
7) There is almost a complete absence of female PIs. A long-term strategy isneeded. More frequent gatherings of all Centers with world experts andoutstanding female speakers, and scholarship opportunities for women areencouraged.
8) ESIAC hopes to see greater participation in the project by scientists in private
universities.
9) Without active overall management (communication is only one-way frommanagement to the Centers), the Centers are almost autonomous.
10) A strong umbrella management/leadership is needed to bridge the fourCenters, for example, by establishing co-shared PhD and post-doc programs
and introducing a call for projects on “Anticipating Tomorrow’s
Breakthroughs”. A yearly 2-day meeting of the whole ESI-PJ would be
effective for enhancing synergetic effects.
11) Activities toward start-up companies should be encouraged.
12) The top management support system should be funded by MEXT.

7ESIAC2019 Reviewers and Advisers[Chairman]

Hidetoshi Fukuyama
Adviser to the Chair and the President, Tokyo University of Science[Reviewer]< Magneticmaterials> Michael Coey
Professor, School of Physics and CRANN, Trinity College, Dublin
Terunobu Miyazaki
Professor, Tohoku University< Electronic materials David Ginley>
Chief Scientist, The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA
Masashi Takigawa
Professor, The Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo< Catalysts >Hans-Joachim Freund
Director and Scientific Member, Fritz-Haber-Institute der Max Planck
Gesellschaft, Germany
Mizuki Tada
Professor, Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science,
Nagoya University< Batteries >Jean-Marie Tarascon
Professor, Collè ge de France
Tetsuya Osaka
Professor, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science andEngineering, Waseda University<Structuralmaterials> Peter Gumbsch
Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM,
Germany
Yo Tomota
Partnership Fellow, Visiting Researchers, The National Institute ofAdvanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)[Adviser]<Synchrotronradiation Masaki Takata>
Professor, Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced
Materials (IMRAM), Tohoku University< Particle beam > Toshiji Kanaya
Professor, Institute of Materials Structure Science,High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)<Highperformance Shinji Tsuneyuki
computing >Professor, Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science,
The University of Tokyo

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Element Strategy Initiative Advisory Council 2019
（ESIAC2019）
Day 1: Dec.13[Open Session] Banquet Room A
15:30 Registration desk open
16:00 - 16:05 Opening remarks
Hidetoshi FUKUYAMA (ESIAC Chairman)
16:05 - 16:15 Expectations for Element Strategy Initiative
Hiroki KUROSAWA (Director, Materials Science and Nanotechnology
Development Division, Research Promotion Bureau, MEXT)
Shuichi SAKAMOTO (General Director, Cabinet Office)16:15 - 16:25 Introduction of the Element Strategy Initiative Research Project toForm Core Research Centers (ESI-PJ)
Kohei TAMAO (Program Director)
16:25 - 17:15 Activities of Core Research Centers (10min/center)
The Elements Strategy Initiative Center
for Magnetic Materials (ESICMM)
Satoshi HIROSAWA, Director General (NIMS)
Tokodai Institute for Element Strategy (TIES)
Hideo HOSONO, Representative (Tokyo Institute of Technology)
Elements Strategy Initiative for Catalysts and Batteries (ESICB)
Tsunehiro TANAKA, Director (Kyoto University)
Elements Strategy Initiative for Structural Materials (ESISM)
Isao TANAKA, Director (Kyoto University)
17:15 - 17:50 Collaborative Research Facilities (10min/each)High Performance Computing Infrastructure (HPCI)
Shinji TSUNEYUKI (The University of Tokyo)
Particle beam facility
Toshiji KANAYA(High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK))
Synchrotron radiation facility
Masaki TAKATA (Tohoku University)[Get together Session]
17:50 - 18:00 Banquet Room B (same floor)
18:00 - 18:10 Opening remarks
18:10 - 20:00 Exchange of opinions* Materials introduced in the session will be posted.

9Element Strategy Initiative Advisory Council 2019
（ESIAC2019）
Day 2: Dec.14[Closed session] Banquet Room B
Participants: About 50
ESIAC2019 reviewers and advisors,
ESI-PJ related persons, government officials.
Chairman：Hidetoshi FUKUYAMA
8:30 - 8:40 Introduction (Hidetoshi FUKUYAMA)
8:40 - 8:55 Management system of ESI-PJ (Kohei TAMAO (Program Director))< 1; The Elements Strategy Initiative Center for Magnetic Materials (ESICMM)>
9:00 - 9:30 Explanation of ESICMM Activities (Satoshi HIROSAWA)
9:30 - 9:50 Q&A
9:50 - 10:10 Closed discussions
10:10 - 10:20 Coffee Break< 2; Tokodai Institute for Element Strategy (TIES)>
10:20 - 10:50 Explanation of TIES Activities (Hideo HOSONO)
10:50 - 11:10 Q&A
11:10 - 11:30 Closed discussions
11:30 - 12:30 Lunch Break< 3; Elements Strategy Initiative for Structural Materials (ESISM)>
12:30 - 13:00 Explanation of ESISM Activities (Isao TANAKA)
13:00 - 13:20 Q&A
13:20 - 13:40 Closed discussions< 4; Elements Strategy Initiative for Catalysts and Batteries (ESICB)>
13:45 - 14:15 Explanation of ESICB Activities (Tsunehiro TANAKA)
14:15 - 14:35 Q&A
14:35 - 14:55 Closed discussions
14:55 - 15:05 Coffee Break< 5; Summary of ESI-PJ>
15:05 - 15:55 Closed discussions
15:55 - 16:15 Summary (Hidetoshi FUKUYAMA)
16:15
Closing (Kohei TAMAO)

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