On February 7, 2007, Catherine Brchignac and Arnold Migus, respectively CNRS President and General Director, and Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, President of AIST (National Japanese Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology), signed an agreement to create a GDRI (International Research Network) known by the acronym ECSAW (Environmental catalysis for sustaining clean air and water). In addition to CNRS and AIST, the Universities of Caen, Poitiers, Lille 1, Paris 6 and Lyon 1 are also closely involved in this GDRI, further strengthening the collaboration that already exists in this field between French and Japanese research teams. It constitutes an important step towards the development of a new, sustainable chemicals industry.

Catalysis plays an innovative role in the development of new technologies, for both preventing and reducing all sorts of emissions and for removing impurities from waste water. It is a crucial factor for the development of a new, sustainable chemicals industry. Environmental catalysis effectively constitutes an efficient means of eliminating waste and reducing energy consumption. Over the last ten or so years, French and Japanese researchers have been collaborating on improving processes based on catalysis. In creating this new international research network, CNRS and AIST have agreed to promote research in this field with the aim of improving air quality and water treatment. The research will particularly focus on:

• the reduction of NOx (nitrogen oxides)

• new fuels for fuel cells

• decontaminating air and water by photocatalysis

• green chemistry

Set up for four years, the "Environmental catalysis for sustaining clean air and water" International Research Network is the third GDRI created with Japan with the aim of coordinating the activities of AIST research institutes and Japanese university laboratories with those of CNRS laboratories associ
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Contact: Monica McCarthy
monica.mccarthy@cnrs-dir.fr
33-144-965-191
CNRS
13-Feb-2007