*The third event was a voluntary attendance event at the Asia Smart City Conference to be held on November 25-26, 2025, so this will be the fourth event.
The fourth workshop for university students in Yokohama City, "What does the future of 'Smart City Yokohama' look like?", was held on Wednesday, December 3rd, in the Technology Exhibition Room at the headquarters of JGC Corporation (hereinafter referred to as JGC). The theme this time was "Considering the creators of smart cities." With the cooperation of JGC's Future Strategy Office and facilitated by Mr. Sato of BizTech Co., Ltd., a rich discussion took place.
The essence of smart cities: starting from people's happiness, not technology
At the beginning of the workshop, facilitator Mr. Sato reiterated the purpose of the program.
"When we talk about smart cities, the focus tends to be on technologies such as ICT and mobility. However, using technology is not the goal. The purpose of this workshop is to consider how Yokohama City can create an environment in which we can live better, happier, and safer in the future." The first session looked at smart cities from the perspective of regional finance from the perspective of Yokohama Bank, and the second session looked at smart cities from the perspective of railway companies from the perspective of Tokyu Corporation and Sotetsu. This time, the focus will be on a company called JGC.
What does JGC do? A company that supports social infrastructure through plant engineering
The JGC Group operates in all regions of the world, focusing on two business segments: the comprehensive engineering business, which covers a wide range of business areas, and the functional materials manufacturing business, which is supported by unique technologies. Among these, the comprehensive engineering business is characterized by:A business model called "EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction)" that provides a comprehensive range of services from plant design, procurement, and constructionJGC Corporation is also responsible for the JGC Group's comprehensive domestic engineering business.
Five business areas and "Enhancing Planetary Health"
It was explained that the JGC Group is currently focusing on five areas.
A.エネルギートランジション(Transition from coal to oil to gas to renewable energy)
Two.Life Sciences and Healthcare(Pharmaceutical manufacturing, hospital construction, etc.)
Three.Resource circulation(Plastic recycling, chemical plants)
Four.High-performance materials(Ceramic products such as catalysts)
XNUMX.Industry and urban infrastructure(Semiconductors, data centers, storage batteries, etc.)
The background to these domain definitions is the JGC Group's purpose:Enhancing Planetary Health" --This message conveys that "the health of people and the Earth are closely related, and by pursuing these two, we can create a prosperous future."
New Businesses from the Future Strategy Office: Food Tech and Energy
JGC's Future Strategy Office explained that it is developing new businesses with an eye toward solving future social issues.
"Food tech fieldThen,Land-based aquaculture businessAs a result, we built a factory in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, and are currently cultivating mackerel. The technology is characterized by a closed-circulation system that circulates water, and can be deployed anywhere as long as there is land and energy. In addition, we are utilizing the knowledge of cell culture technology that we have cultivated in our engineering business,Cultured meatWe are also conducting research and development on this topic.
Energy sectorThen,"Power generation anywhere" project using thin-film solar cells, including perovskite solar cellsWe are working on the following:
Perovskite solar cells have the following advantages compared to conventional silicon solar cells:Lightweight and flexible, it can be installed in places where it was previously impossible to install due to load-bearing restrictions.This is a groundbreaking technology. Through the JGC Mirai Fund, we invest in startups and aim to co-create it with the aim of implementing it in society.
He also commented on future possibilities, saying, "Perovskite is still in its infancy. We are now entering the mass production phase, and once that is complete, we can expect significant cost reductions compared to conventional solar cells."
All of these new businesses were considered by the Future Strategy Office,Established a subsidiaryIt seems that various schemes are being implemented, including commercialization of this technology.
<Reference>
Land-based aquaculture business:かもめミライ水産株式会社
Cultured meat business:Organoid Farm Inc.
Anywhere power generation business:Anywhere Power Plant | New Construction Method for Perovskite Solar Cells
Workshop: Envisioning Yokohama Smart City in 2040
After the lecture, the students participated in a workshop."What problems will Yokohama Smart City solve in 2040?" "How would you describe the future Yokohama Smart City in one word?"
Students' vision of the future
The students presented the following visions:
"A city with a good work-life balance"--A state in which people and technology are in harmony, rather than everything being replaced by AI
A city with a low environmental impact--Renewable energy and resource recycling have become commonplace
"A city with optimized transportation infrastructure"--The supply and demand balance is optimized, eliminating unnecessary travel and waiting times.
Specific measures for around 2030 and one to two years from now
After drawing up a vision for 2040, we also discussed specific actions to make it a reality.
Design around 2030
・Late-night hours may be easier to conduct autonomous driving demonstration experiments due to the balance with surrounding traffic.
・Using AI to enable autonomous driving when holding events at Yamashita Pier
・Demonstration experiments of pedal power generation at places with high traffic such as Yokohama Station and the Minato Mirai 21 district
Design 1-2 years from now
-Autonomous driving will be used for transport between venues at GREEN×EXPO 2027--This could be a turning point for the future spread of autonomous driving.
・Demonstration experiment of power generation using wave power and human foot power
After the workshop
In this workshop, discussions were held from the perspective of plant engineering as "builders" of smart cities.
JGC hasProject management skillsThe ability to complete large-scale, complex projects according to plan while ensuring quality and collaborating with diverse stakeholders is a strength that can be applied to the complex urban development of smart cities.
In addition, there are also other areas such as land-based aquaculture, cultured meat, and perovskite solar cells.New technologies that lead to solving social issuesThe students were greatly inspired by the sight of companies making advance investments and conducting repeated demonstrations with the aim of implementing the technology in society.
Participating students commented, "This was the first time I'd heard of JGC, but I now understand that it is an important company that supports social infrastructure," "I learned that it's not just technology that's needed, but the ability to get the entire project going," and "Perhaps we could conduct demonstration experiments on renewable energy and resource recycling in Yokohama as well."
This workshop will be held over six sessions. The next one will be held on Wednesday, December 10th, and will feature representatives from Nissin Corporation, with the theme "International Movement of Goods and Improving Quality of Life."
We will continue to report on the workshop, so please stay tuned!