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Kato Lab
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The lab researches zero-carbon energy that turns carbon dioxide and heat into resources.
AboutAbout the lab
Building a decarbonized society through energy
The Kato Lab researches how to build a society that coexists with the global environment, from the perspective of energy.
As global warming caused by carbon dioxide and the depletion of resources become more serious, the lab works on energy storage and conversion and on turning carbon dioxide into a resource.
The lab advocates an Active Carbon Recycling Energy System, which captures carbon dioxide and uses it repeatedly.
Members' undergraduate backgrounds vary, including chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, and physics, and each draws on their own experience to advance the research.
Key terms
- Carbon neutrality
- Balancing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted against the amount captured, so that net emissions are zero overall
- Chemical heat storage
- A mechanism that stores heat using chemical reactions. It can store heat that would otherwise be discarded and release it when needed
- Solid oxide electrolysis cell
- A device made of ceramics that electrolyzes carbon dioxide or water at high temperatures. Also called SOEC
NewsLab news
A master's student received the Excellence Award in the Kakuyukai Award Outstanding Student Awards
Professor Kato received the International Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan
Assistant Professor Funayama received the GX Encouragement Award of the Takao Kashiwagi GXI Award
A master's student received the Excellence Award in the Kakuyukai Award Outstanding Student Awards
A master's student received a poster presentation award at the GXI-ZES Symposium
ResearchResearch themes
Aiming for carbon neutrality, the lab researches energy systems that make use of zero-carbon energy. It works toward a low-carbon society through three technologies: turning carbon dioxide into a resource, chemical heat storage for storing heat, and membranes that separate out hydrogen.
*Illustrative imageCarbon recycling energy systems
This is an energy system that converts carbon dioxide into a resource and recycles it. Focusing on the production of carbon monoxide, which is the key step, the lab works on decomposing carbon dioxide with solid oxide electrolysis cells and on increasing capacity by supporting the cells on a metal substrate.
*Illustrative imageChemical heat storage and chemical heat pumps
The lab develops chemical heat storage materials for storing heat that has been difficult to recover until now, such as industrial waste heat. In addition to a chemical heat pump that uses the reaction between calcium oxide and water, it proposes different reaction systems for different temperature ranges.
*Illustrative imageHigh-efficiency hydrogen permeable membranes
The lab makes membranes for extracting high-purity hydrogen using its own reverse build-up method. Conventional palladium alloy membranes, which were tens of micrometers thick, can be thinned to a few micrometers, enabling low-cost, compact, and highly efficient hydrogen separation.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kato Lab are faculty members, researchers, technical support staff, and master's and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorYukitaka KatoPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Red Trail Energy ethanol CO2 capture plant Richardton ND1” Acroterion / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Carbon recycling energy systems: “Solid oxide electrolyser cell 2x60cell stack” EERE / Public domain (cropped)
- Chemical heat storage and chemical heat pumps: “Thermal Storage Tanks ( )” NAVFAC / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- High-efficiency hydrogen permeable membranes: “The Bird of Happiness” Strugalina / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Harada Lab): “CO2-Wäscher” IUTAe.V. / CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped)
- Related lab (Ihara-Manzhos Lab): “Transmission Lines at Sunset” Kkiefuik / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Matsumoto Lab): “Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Control Room Operators ( )” PEO ACWA / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yamaguchi-Kuroki Lab): “Electrolyser, rear” CambridgeBayWeather / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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