FOREWORD

Efforts Toward Realization of a Carbon-Neutral,
Green Society– All for One Earth –K. HAYASHIDA
Vice Chief of Division, Research & Development Division

Introduction
This year 2021 marks the 100 th anniversary of thefounding of JTEKT’s forerunner, Koyo Seiko. The Koyo
name still lives on through Koyo bearings, which arehighly sought after by users in many different industries.
I’d like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all ourstakeholders. We appreciate your continued support.
This issue of JTEKT Engineering Journal (No.1018E)
is a special issue covering industry-related technology.
It looks at areas such as machining and manufacturing
technologies for industrial machinery bearings andother components. This issue is also the first online-onlyversion of the journal. We have decided to discontinue
the paper version starting with this issue in response
to today’s greater concern for the environment. Thankyou for your continued interest in JTEKT Engineering
Journal.

Working to create a carbon-neutral green
economyIn a general policy speech made in October 2020,
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officiallycalled for the creation of a green economy. Japan wants
to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zeroby 2050–the goal is to have attained a carbon-neutral
decarbonized economy by that year. Japan’s efforts
toward a green economy are gaining momentum, withprime minister Suga’s call to action followed by a numberof developments in rapid succession. For example, theMinistry of Economy, Trade and Industry released a green
growth strategy for carbon neutrality by 2050, while theAct on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures
was amended in May this year.
Now I’d like to discuss how environmental issues
relate to entropy. The law of entropy (the second lawof thermodynamics) states that every time energy istransformed from one state to another, the available
energy needed to do some work in the future is lost.

JTEKT ENGINEERING JOURNAL English Edition No. 1018E (2022)

Entropy is the degree to which energy can no longer beconverted into work. Let’s look at primary energy sources.
Fossil fuel-derived energy sources such as petroleum andcoal are burned and consumed, ending up as unusableenergy in the form of waste products and waste heat. Thegreenhouse gas (CO2) held to be responsible for global
warming is one of the high-entropy waste products. Lowentropy substances should be used efficiently, and highentropy waste products recovered or reused. But solar andother renewable energy sources only enable intermittent
use and have low entropy. Solar power produces noCO2 waste (the main greenhouse gas), making it very
promising as an environmentally friendly energy source.
It is one of the energy sources for which mass adoption
could be foreseen.
As plant owners, manufacturers like JTEKT willinevitably need to work on reducing CO2. The entropy
considerations described above mean that the key
technologies for achieving carbon neutrality will berenewable energy-based technologies for production,storage, and use of CO2-free hydrogen, along with CCUS
(carbon capture, utilization and storage) technologies
for handling CO2 emitted from plants. JTEKT is looking
to research and develop these technologies to enable
their practical application. LCA (life cycle assessment)
is a methodology that examines product manufacture,transport and use starting from the resource-gathering
phase and ending with the return of waste products
back to the planet. JTEKT wants to use this approachin product development. By applying the 3Rs (reduce,reuse, recycle) to design and development, we arelooking to make our resource use more streamlined
and effective through measures such as saving energy,
reducing size and weight, extending product life, andmaximizing reductions in materials and parts. Naturally,
we also want to continue our steady efforts to reduce CO2from manufacturing sites and manage environmentallyhazardous substances while complying with chemicalregulations.
The economy and the world will no doubt change1

in highly unpredictable ways over the next 30 years as
Japan works to create a green economy by 2050. There
will likely be challenging obstacles to overcome whenbalancing the needs of the environment and the economy.
But JTEKT is resolutely committed to developing newtechnologies that will benefit future generations andthe planet that sustains us. This work will be designed
to refine our awareness of environmental issues. It will
help speed the path to a green economy while enabling
collaboration among the public and private sectors alongwith local governments. Thank you for your continued
support.
– All for One Earth –2JTEKT ENGINEERING JOURNAL English Edition No. 1018E (2022)