In recent years, natural gas prices in the United States have gone from historic highs of over $12 per mmBtu in the summer of 2008, to under $2.50/mmBtu in 2012. While demand side factors – such as the crisis in global financial markets – were partially to blame, many would argue that the real story is on the supply side, where increased production of shale gas – a form of unconventional natural gas trapped in leafy shale rock – drove gas prices down across the continent. The impact of low gas prices was felt in the form of cheap electricity, heating, and feedstocks to consumers and industry, which in turn bolstered the economic recovery. As an added bonus, cheap gas displaced dirty coal in power generation, reducing carbon emissions and pollution.

It is no wonder then, that when a recent U.S. Energy Information Administration publication on world wide reserves of shale gas crowned China as the holder of the world’s largest shale gas reserves, many inside and outside the Middle Kingdom were intrigued and enthralled by the possibilities of what shale gas could mean for China – in terms of climate, pollution, quality of life – and what it could mean for the broader international gas trade.

In this upcoming EWG talk, we will highlight some of the current activities and future plans for unconventional gas development in China. We will focus on the political, institutional, and commercial forces at play, and discuss some of the potential upsides and pitfalls that China will encounter on the road to realizing its unconventional gas potential.

Connecting the Dots conference website

Stanford experts from a range of disciplines discuss the interconnections and interactions among humanity's needs for and use of water, food, energy, and environment. Drawing on their own research, the speakers illustrate and evaluate some of the ways in which decisions in one resource area can lead to trade-offs or co-benefits in others. Participants examine sustainable freshwater resources and uses in Africa, Asia, and the arid West. 

Panel: Africa - Water, Nutrition, Health and Poverty

China: Water, Food, Climate, and Policy

There are currently 60 nuclear reactors under construction worldwide with nearly half of these projects being built in China. There is no doubt that East Asia is emerging as a leader in the international nuclear community where China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) are playing major roles as a result of their aggressive new plant build programs. Both China and South Korea present very interesting case studies where the former is rapidly building up domestic expertise in nuclear construction while the latter has gone one step further in capitalizing successfully on a nuclear export business. Both countries have relied heavily on external commercial support in building up this expertise. In the case of South Korea, the “Koreanization” of nuclear power took place in the 1980’s and 1990’s, first with a large number of Western builds and ultimately a complete indigenization of pressurized water reactor technology through a technology transfer with Combustion Engineering. The Chinese domestic nuclear program has been largely influenced by Western vendors as well; however, there has been significantly less emphasis on exporting the technology up to now as they master the imported technologies for their domestic program. The recent AP1000 technology transfer between Westinghouse Electric Company and China has opened up unique transnational learning opportunities between the United States and China where the lessons learned building the first AP1000 plants in China will be shared with the two U.S. utilities now embarking on new plant construction at the Vogtle and V.C. Summer sites, in Georgia and South Carolina, respectively. This talk will review both the historical experiences of exporting nuclear technology to the ROK and China, as well as the progress being made by these countries in absorbing the technology. Further, the AP1000 passive plant technology will be summarized as an example of the general trend for future designs in response to the reactor accidents at Fukushima Dai-ichi in March 2011. Finally, the advanced construction techniques being used to build AP1000 plants in both the U.S. and China will be highlighted along with their benefits in delivering new plants on schedule.

About the speaker: Dr Matzie is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Westinghouse Electric Company and was responsible for all Westinghouse research and development undertakings and advanced nuclear plant development. He is also on the Board of PBMR Pty Ltd. and Chairman of the Board Technical Committee. In that role, he assures proper oversight of the design, safety, licensing, research and development, and quality aspects of the PBMR enterprise.

Previously, Dr Matzie was responsible for the development, licensing, detailed engineering, project management, and component manufacturing of new Westinghouse light water reactors and was also the Executive in charge of Westinghouse replacement steam generator projects and dry spent-fuel-canister fabrication projects. He became a Senior Vice President in 2000, when Westinghouse purchased the nuclear businesses of ABB. His career has been devoted primarily to the development of advanced nuclear systems and advanced fuel cycles, and he is the author of more than 120 technical papers and reports on these subjects.

In this session of the Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Yasunori Kakemizu, "Strategy of CATV in the Competitive TV Market: Open vs. Closed Models"

After prospering for more than a half-century in the United States, the cable industry is taking on a new competitor, Over-The-Top providers (OTT). OTT providers are a product of the information technology revolution that emerged from the invention of Internet protocol of the late 20th century. In his research presentation, Kakemizu tries to answer the question: What is the strategy of the cable industry in the United States and what will happen to it in the near future? Kakemizu analyzes the current threat and opportunity facing cable television companies, focusing on the strategies against OTT, such as Netflix and Hulu.

Hideaki Koda, "Driving the Electric Vehicle Forward: Reshaping Car Sharing with EV and ICT"

Should the all-electric vehicle challenge the traditional car head-on in the mainstream market? The answer may be "no" if you look back on the history of disruptive innovations. An innovative technology at its dawn often succeeds first in a smaller, untapped market where its strengths shine and its weaknesses are shadowed (or even turned into strengths). It then enters the mainstream market over time by achieving more maturity, as typically shown in the computer market. Then where is the market for the electric vehicle? It might be car sharing, which is thought to be a potentially large market. Koda discusses how to combine electric vehicles and car sharing with information and communications technology (e.g. Big Data processing) to achieve a win-win solution for all by taking advantage of the unique characteristics of the electric vehicle.  

Haiming Li, "Competing Strategies for China's Large Commercial Banks"

Competing strategies are critical to China's large commercial banks, as they determine future direction of development for these banks. Research shows that following five strategies, namely a strategy for lead changes, a strategy for globalization, a strategy for diversification, a strategy for systematic risk management, as well as a strategy for establishing a decision-making support system, need to be adapted. Coordinated implementation of these strategies will enhance the competitiveness of China's large commercial banks both home and abroad.

Yoshimasa Waseda, "Nantotechnolgoy for Fuel Cells: The Impact and Analysis of the Status Using Patent Information"

Judging from the need to reduce increasing dangers of future global climate change, clean energy has become more important and is a key issue for future development. Fuel cells are a candidate for achieving clean energy in the future although they currently have some disadvantages. Many researchers study the application of nanotechnology for fuel cells to solve these disadvantages using the unique phenomena of nanomaterials. In this presentation, Waseda discusses the impact of nanotechnology for fuel cells and analyzes the status of each region using patent information.

In this session of the Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Kazuma Fukai, "Current Situation of Shale Gas Revolution and its Impact on the U.S. and Japan"

Shale gas is called a “game changer”. According to the Energy Information Administration, shale gas will be the major source of incremental U.S. natural gas supply, increasing its share of production from 23% in 2010 to 49% in 2035. President Obama expressed even as the U.S. develops next generation energy technologies, the U.S will continue to rely on oil and gas. Due to the shale gas boom, the current price of natural gas (U.S. Henry Hub) is declining, about 1/8 of the peak price in 2005. Given the importance of environmental issues and efficiency, combined with depressed natural gas prices, the demand for natural gas in the power sector will grow rapidly. In Japan, the unprecedented nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant affected energy policy dramatically. While the future of nuclear power in Japan is still unclear, natural gas power plants would be one of the most important energy resources to compensate for the loss of nuclear power plants as a realistic and reliable short and middle term approach. If the abundance of natural gas in the U.S. flows to Japan, it would contribute to a choice of supplier and different price formula for Japan. Fukai will present information based on the current state of shale drilling in the U.S., environmental issues, and interviews with many key experts and professors in shale gas as well as his experience at Kansai Electric Power Company.

Katsunori Hirano, "Learning from Sustainable Energy Financing Models Operating in the U.S. Market:  A Study for Japan's Clean and Safe Energy Future after Fukushima"

The Fukushima meltdown, which followed a devastating natural disaster in March 2011, presented the Japanese citizenry clear evidence that the way to meet their energy needs had not been sustainable. They have found the value of improving their resilience and security by their own initiative, intelligence, and foresight. The growth in the energy efficiency and renewable energy market is the defining feature of Japan’s energy future.

A substantial number of financing models are being implemented to help encourage investment in energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy deployments in the United States. In his research, Hirano tries to identify the best model operating in the U.S. market to provide financing opportunities for sustainable energy.  The local authorities in Japan can swiftly and flexibly apply this model for local households and businesses in their jurisdiction.

Yuji Kamimai, "A New Business Model for the Media Industry"

For a long time, it has been said that media is the mirror of the times we live in.  In his research, Kamimai tries to understand the ascent of and vast changes of media through a historical backdrop to help explain and recognize new service and technological innovation in the Silicon Valley.  Additionally, he examines some trends other than media that could help provide a deeper understanding.  From the rise of media and the latest IT business model, Kamimai learns what is important for the media to do, and explains what the next action steps are.  

Masami Miyashita, "A Study about the Ecosystem that Creates and Develops Global Start-ups"

Innovation is critical to economic growth, and entrepreneurship and startups are pivotal ingredients of innovation. After Japan’s economic bubble bursting in 1990, there was much talk about the lack of entrepreneurship in Japan as a driver of creative destruction and economic revival. The “Silicon Valley model” of entrepreneurship was heavily studied. Beginning in the late 1990s, the Japanese government rapidly developed institutional and social frameworks for startups in Japan. In the early 2000s, however, few Japanese startups were global in scale, and the presence in Silicon Valley of Japanese entrepreneurs and startup were still very limited. After the first decade of the 21st century, there are preliminary indications of a new wave of startups by Japanese entrepreneurs making inroads in Silicon Valley. Compared to other groups, such as Chinese or Indians, the number of Japanese entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley still remains miniscule. However, for the Japanese entrepreneurs to take advantage of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial and innovation opportunities, lessons from the experiences and challenged faced by Japanese based in Silicon Valley are important.  In his research, Miyashita provides some of the key factors that are feeding this new wave of startups.

In this session of the Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Kazuma Fukai, "Current Situation of Shale Gas Revolution and its Impact on the U.S. and Japan"

Shale gas is called a “game changer”. According to the Energy Information Administration, shale gas will be the major source of incremental U.S. natural gas supply, increasing its share of production from 23% in 2010 to 49% in 2035. President Obama expressed even as the U.S. develops next generation energy technologies, the U.S will continue to rely on oil and gas. Due to the shale gas boom, the current price of natural gas (U.S. Henry Hub) is declining, about 1/8 of the peak price in 2005. Given the importance of environmental issues and efficiency, combined with depressed natural gas prices, the demand for natural gas in the power sector will grow rapidly. In Japan, the unprecedented nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant affected energy policy dramatically. While the future of nuclear power in Japan is still unclear, natural gas power plants would be one of the most important energy resources to compensate for the loss of nuclear power plants as a realistic and reliable short and middle term approach. If the abundance of natural gas in the U.S. flows to Japan, it would contribute to a choice of supplier and different price formula for Japan. Fukai will present information based on the current state of shale drilling in the U.S., environmental issues, and interviews with many key experts and professors in shale gas as well as his experience at Kansai Electric Power Company.

Katsunori Hirano, "Learning from Sustainable Energy Financing Models Operating in the U.S. Market:  A Sutdy for Japan's Clean and Safe Energy Future after Fukushima"

The Fukushima meltdown, which followed a devastating natural disaster in March 2011, presented the Japanese citizenry clear evidence that the way to meet their energy needs had not been sustainable. They have found the value of improving their resilience and security by their own initiative, intelligence, and foresight. The growth in the energy efficiency and renewable energy market is the defining feature of Japan’s energy future.

A substantial number of financing models are being implemented to help encourage investment in energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy deployments in the United States. In his research, Hirano tries to identify the best model operating in the U.S. market to provide financing opportunities for sustainable energy.  The local authorities in Japan can swiftly and flexibly apply this model for local households and businesses in their jurisdiction.

Yuji Kamimai, "A New Business Model for the Media Industry"

For a long time, it has been said that media is the mirror of the times we live in.  In his research, Kamimai tries to understand the ascent of and vast changes of media through a historical backdrop to help explain and recognize new service and technological innovation in the Silicon Valley.  Additionally, he examines some trends other than media that could help provide a deeper understanding.  From the rise of media and the latest IT business model, Kamimai learns what is important for the media to do, and explains what the next action steps are.

Masami Miyashita, "A Study about the Ecosystem that Creates and Develops Global Start-ups"

Innovation is critical to economic growth, and entrepreneurship and startups are pivotal ingredients of innovation. After Japan’s economic bubble bursting in 1990, there was much talk about the lack of entrepreneurship in Japan as a driver of creative destruction and economic revival. The “Silicon Valley model” of entrepreneurship was heavily studied. Beginning in the late 1990s, the Japanese government rapidly developed institutional and social frameworks for startups in Japan. In the early 2000s, however, few Japanese startups were global in scale, and the presence in Silicon Valley of Japanese entrepreneurs and startup were still very limited. After the first decade of the 21st century, there are preliminary indications of a new wave of startups by Japanese entrepreneurs making inroads in Silicon Valley. Compared to other groups, such as Chinese or Indians, the number of Japanese entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley still remains miniscule. However, for the Japanese entrepreneurs to take advantage of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial and innovation opportunities, lessons from the experiences and challenged faced by Japanese based in Silicon Valley are important.  In his research, Miyashita provides some of the key factors that are feeding this new wave of startups.

In this session of the Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Minoru Aosaki, "Banking System and Sovereign Risk in Japan"

After the financial crisis of 2008, European financial markets have experienced sharp increases of sovereign risk. This adversely affected the solvency of banking institutions as they suffered losses from their sovereign holdings and deterioration in their funding conditions. Meanwhile, Japan's sovereign market remained stable, but market participants were cautious as the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio is the highest in the world, and its banking sector holds as much as 44% of domestic sovereign debt. The question is how Japanese policy makers should address the sovereign risk in the banking system. In pursuit of this question, Aosaki compares the market environment in Japan and the Euro Area, examining the reasons banks hold sovereign bonds and the channels that connect sovereign risk with the banking system.

Prashant Pandya, "Cell-based Therapies -- Current Trends and Future Prospects"

Stem cells have been the subject of considerable excitement and debate over the last decade. Stem cell therapy is emerging as a potentially revolutionary new way to treat disease and injury, with wide-ranging medical benefits. Stem cell research provides the opportunity to advance our understanding of human biology and treatment of various diseases. In Pandya’s research, he shares his experience about major challenges related to the commercial development of stem cell therapies and key technology drivers. This research is based on consultations with several prestigious regulatory agencies—including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency, and Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia—as well as interviews with 45 CEOs and senior scientists of large and small biotech companies and professors from leading universities across five countries. Pandya’s research reveals that there are many intriguing aspects of stem cells still remaining to be elucidated. Stem cells have the potential to treat an enormous range of diseases and conditions that plague millions of people and offer exciting promise for future therapies. But significant technical hurdles remain that will only be overcome through years of intensive research, and successful commercialization of cell-based therapies requires more than proving safety and efficacy to regulators. Ultimately the therapy must be commercially viable.

Ramnath Ramanathan, "Designing Toxicology Studies for Small Interfering Ribo Nucleic Acid"

The field of medicine has improved drastically over the period of time. Medical treatment has evolved from using plant extracts to chemical drugs to stem cell and gene therapies. Discovery of small interfering Ribo Nucleic Acid (siRNA) was one of the most important recent breakthroughs in the field of medicine. This was due to siRNA’s capability of posttranscriptional gene silencing by destruction of mRNA and thereby reducing the protein synthesis. Though the efficacy studies conducted in vitro and in animal models are promising, there have also been circumstances where there were adverse effects including mortality of animals treated with siRNA. Since RNA interference is a relatively new technique, it is very important to understand the toxicity involved before using it as a therapy. For this purpose, toxicology studies have to be designed in order to address all questions on the safety aspects of siRNA. In addition to the traditional toxicity studies, several other tests will have to be conducted. These additional studies will have to address issues specific to siRNA therapy such as immune activation, formation of tetraplex DNA, down regulation of non-target mRNA, interaction with cellular proteins, etc. Through Ramanathan’s work, he has designed a battery of toxicology studies to understand the side effects so that only relatively safe therapy is tried on humans during clinical trials. Ramanathan will present his findings.