Press release, 18.2.2021

Will industry achieve "Net Zero" in 2050?
German and Japanese experts are optimistic - but it won't work without politics
After three conference days with an average of almost 300 participants, over 40 speakers,
six expert forums and nine networking sessions, the German-Japanese Environment andEnergy Dialogue Forum ended today. The contributions and discussions made it clear thatthe challenges for energy-intensive industries in particular are immense. Not only
technological innovations, but also political framework conditions such as CO2 pricing arenecessary to make industry in Germany and Japan climate-neutral by 2050.
After the political representatives had presented their respective climate protection goals
and strategies for decarbonization on the first day of the conference and think tanks in bothcountries had shown possible paths and models for "net zero", the focus on the following
two days was on practical implementation. How do large corporations like Bosch or Hitachiplan to reduce or offset emissions in the various stages of the value chain in concrete terms?
How can virtual power plants contribute to emission reduction, for example in "smart energystores" or in the use of regional "green" energy sources in local industries? Where canuntapped potential for energy efficiency still be found? And in which industries canhydrogen play a decisive role in decarbonization?
Contributions from companies such as Tepco Energy Partner, Hitachi, Marubeni, JX Mining &Metals, Salzgitter AG or RWE as well as in the analyses of Fraunhofer ISI, the CompetenceCentre for Energy-Intensive Energies KEI or the Institute for Low CO2 Industrial Processes ofthe DLR made very clear: there are various levers and pathways for decarbonizing theindustry. Fossil fuels can be replaced by "green" energies or hydrogen while energy
efficiency can be optimized through process conversions or the use of innovativetechnologies such as high-temperature heat pumps; or the CO2 can be captured and used inother industries (carbon recycling).
The German and Japanese experts agreed that the electrification of industrial processes is
one of the central challenges. "Electricity is the primary energy of the future," said Dr.

Wenzel from KEI. Hydrogen seems to have the biggest potential for CO2 reduction in steel
production and the chemical industry. Technologies are already partly available (for example
in the steel production with hydrogen working as a reducing agent), but they do not pay off
under the current market conditions. Here, politics are called upon to set the appropriate
framework with instruments such as "carbon contracts for difference". In Japan, too, this
topic has recently moved up in the political agenda: in December, Prime Minister Suga
commissioned the Japanese Ministry of Economy and Environment to develop concepts forCO2 pricing.

About the EEDF

Since its founding in 2007, the EEDF has become a renowned platform for the informationexchange between experts from industry, academia and politics of both countries on current
environment and energy related issues as well as a starting point for cooperation projects. It
is organized by the German Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear
Safety, the German Ministry of Economy and Energy and the New Energy and Industrial
Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in co-operation with the Ministry ofEconomics, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of the Environment (Japan).
Realization: ECOS and adelphi
Language: German and Japanese (simultaneous interpretation)

Contact:
ECOS GmbH
Westerbreite 749084 Osnabrueck/Germany
Johanna Schilling (Ms.)
Tel. +49-(0)541-911 909 97
E-Mail: jschilling@ecos.eu