LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Ouchi Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab develops resource-circulation processes that produce metals with high efficiency and recover them from scrap.
AboutAbout the lab
Taking on highly efficient energy use and resource circulation.
The Ouchi Lab develops processes for producing metals with high efficiency, as well as recycling processes that recover metals after use.
The lab aims to support advanced technology by efficiently converting energy into the form of metals.
Building on physical chemistry, thermodynamics, electrochemistry, reaction engineering, and materials science, the lab works with precious metals, rare metals, and reactive metals.
The lab was established in April 2026 and is recruiting graduate students and postdocs.
Key terms
- Smelting
- The series of steps that extract a target metal from ore or scrap and raise its purity
- Molten salt electrolysis
- A method of extracting a target metal by passing an electric current through a salt melted at high temperature
- Rare metals
- Metals that are produced in small quantities or are difficult to extract, and are essential for advanced equipment
- Upgrade recycling
- Recycling that refines recovered material to a higher quality than the original product
NewsLab news
Associate Professor Ouchi took up the post, and the lab was established in the Graduate School of Environment and Energy
Received the 45th Honda Memorial Research Encouragement Award for the development of materials processes through control of reactions at molten salt–metal interfaces
ResearchResearch themes
Under the motto "Taking on highly efficient energy use and resource circulation," the lab conducts research and development on highly efficient metal production processes and recycling processes. It aims to contribute to a sustainable society by developing innovative recycling processes that realize resource circulation.
*Illustrative imagePrecious Metals
Gold and platinum group metals are materials that support advanced devices. The lab develops a new recycling process that selectively recovers them from scrap by anodic electrodeposition, which combines molten salt electrolysis with the phenomenon in which precious metals dissolve as anions in molten salt.
*Illustrative imageReactive Metals
Lithium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminum, zinc, rare earth metals, and others are used in energy materials, reducing agents, and structural materials. The lab develops production and recycling processes by controlling electrochemical reactions in molten salt.
*Illustrative imageTitanium Recycling
Producing titanium metal from ore requires large amounts of energy, emits a lot of CO2, and takes a long time. As an alternative, the lab develops an "upgrade recycling" process that efficiently removes oxygen from titanium scrap and refines it to a higher purity than titanium made from ore.
*Illustrative imagePlating Technology
Plating is an essential technology for making wiring and contacts in advanced devices, corrosion protection, functional components, and catalysts. By controlling the behavior of metal ions and the potential and crystal structure of electrode surfaces, the lab creates films and structures with the desired functions and shapes.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Ouchi Lab consist of faculty, research assistants, dispatched researchers, and invited researchers.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorTakanari Ouchi
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Ouchi Lab
Onoda LabGraduate School of Environment and Energy Engineering, Environment and Energy EngineeringLife cycle assessment, circular economy, renewable energy, n…
Notomi LabGraduate School of Environment and Energy Engineering, Environment and Energy EngineeringBiomass resource utilization, ecosystem environmental assess…
Nozu LabGraduate School of Environment and Energy Engineering, Environment and Energy EngineeringRenewable energy, utilization of regional resources, and sus…
Kamiya LabGraduate School of Environment and Energy Engineering, Environment and Energy EngineeringElectric vehicle systems, in-vehicle equipment design, and b…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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: “Titan-crystal bar” Alchemist-hp (pse-mendelejew.de) / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Precious Metals: “Recycled Electronics - Circuit Boards ( )” Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Reactive Metals: “Magnesium ingot cut” 2x910 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Titanium Recycling: “Titanium sponge cylinder, 120 grams” Hi-Res Images of Chemical Elements / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Plating Technology: “A002” Amitsalla / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (小野田研究室): “Suburban rooftop solar power generation in Canberra, Australia” Benlisquare / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (納富研究室): “Balance scale IMGP9722” Nikodem Nijaki / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (野津研究室): “Rice terraces in Hatenashi village A” さか
おり / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (紙屋研究室): “Electrically-powered city bus, Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland” WrS.tm.pl / Public domain (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.