About

About DxMT

In Japan, the construction of the Materials Research DX Platform is underway under the Strategy for Strengthening Materials Innovation Capability, which was decided in April 2021. In this context, the Data-creation and Application-oriented Materials Research and Development Project (DxMT), which aims to create new materials and new functional materials, was launched as a nine-year project in April 2022, based on a one-year feasibility study.
In this project, pioneering data-driven research methods that are completely different from conventional methods will be created for innovations in materials research, and research DX will be promoted and deployed nationwide outside the centre and outside the project. The aim is to create materials with innovative functions by applying them to material fields that are important for the realisation of a carbon-neutral, Society 5.0, resilient nation and well being society. We will accelerate the creation of material innovations by integrating the wisdom and data science accumulated by mankind to date.

Message from PD

Introduction to DxMT Projects (PD)
Kazue Kurihara
National University Corporation Tohoku University
Professor, Joint Research Centre for Future Science and Technology

The importance of digital transformation has been recognised in various fields of society. In science and technology research, in addition to conventional experiments and theory (and simulations), the use of data and information technology as a new research approach is also attracting attention, and pioneering use cases of materials informatics in the field of materials science are beginning to appear in Japan and abroad. The Data Creation and utilisation-oriented Materials Research and Development Project (DxMT) is one of the three pillars to realise the Materials DX Platform concept, which is being promoted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) based on the Strategy for Strengthening Materials Innovation formulated by the Cabinet Office. Full-scale research has been conducted since 2022, after an FS period of three years, with the aim of creating innovative materials and methods for generating and utilising data in the field of materials science in order to realise the future vision of a carbon-neutral, Society 5.0, resilient nation and Well-Being society. Through close collaboration with the remaining two pillars, the Data Core Centre and the Advanced Research Infrastructure for Materials (ARIM), we hope to create a new trend in materials research and strengthen the innovative power of materials research, which is the foundation of a wide range of industries.
The DxMT is unique in that, in addition to the five research centres promoting specific themes to realise the social vision, there is a Data Collaboration Subcommittee with NIMS as the core organisation. This collaboration group will carry out horizontal activities such as creating databases, solving common problems for data utilisation and sharing outstanding results. We hope that the collaboration will take us to a higher level. The research centres have brought together Japan's top researchers, and we expect that highly original and versatile methods and innovative materials will be created.
This project is a new form of team research where originality, co-creation and collaboration are both important. I will unintentionally take on the role of PD, and I want to help to promote good collaboration where challenges can be taken on.
Experience is important in materials development, which is a complex system, but this project, which creates new approaches, is also a place where young researchers and students can play an active role. We encourage you to play an active role.
We would like the results to be utilised by people outside the centre and outside the project, and we also offer open seminars where you can learn the basics of data-driven materials development. We hope that many people will participate in and support the activities of this project.

 

Locations

Research Initiative of Structural Materials for Extreme Environment

Representative Institution: Tohoku University, National University Corporation

Representative Researcher: Hironou Yoshimi

This centre brings together a wide generation of Japanese researchers from different fields to carry out data-driven development of structural materials and utilisation technologies for structural materials with functions that can withstand long-term use in diverse extreme environments ('extreme functions'), such as ultra-high heat resistance, resistance to hydrogen environments, fatigue resistance and wear resistance. The aim is to establish data-driven materials engineering for extending the service life of existing infrastructure systems in which structural materials are used and for increasing the efficiency of new infrastructure systems, thereby contributing to strengthening Japan's research capabilities and industrial competitiveness.

Digital Transformation Initiative Center for Magnetic Materials

Representative Organisation: National Institute for Materials Science

Principal Investigator: Tadakatsu Okubo

①. From data generation, ②. Data integration and management, 3. The Materials Research DX Platform (PF), which will be the core of world-leading value creation, will be established by promoting the DX of materials research from (1) data creation to (2) data integration and management, and (3) data utilisation, and through the Materials DX and PF, magnetic materials such as innovative permanent magnets, soft magnetic materials and functional magnetic materials will be created.

Digital Transformation Initiative for Green Energy Materials

Representing organisation: The University of Tokyo, National University Corporation

Principal Investigator: Masakazu Sugiyama

In order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the mass introduction of renewable energy generation and the substitution of fossil fuels by hydrogen are essential, and this requires the realisation of ultra-large-capacity, low-cost storage batteries and water electrolysers using inexpensive materials without the use of rare metals.
At this centre, the University of Tokyo and 11 research partner institutions will work together to develop advanced data-driven research methods that incorporate data science methods to efficiently create these innovative materials.

Data Driven Materials Research Institute for Electronics

Representing Institution: National University Corporation Institute of Science Tokyo

Principal Investigator: Toshio Kamiya

The aim of this centre is to contribute to solving the challenges of Socety 5.0 and carbon neutrality by discovering new materials that have never been seen before and developing electronic materials that contribute to practical use, mainly through the Institute of Science Tokyo - National Institute for Materials Science - High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation - Fine Ceramics Centre. The aim of the project is to contribute to Socety 5.0 and carbon-neutral solutions by discovering new materials that have never existed before and developing electronic materials that contribute to practical use.
In particular, the centre is pioneering high-mobility and highly stable amorphous and polycrystalline semiconductors for low-power information terminals, ultra-wide-gap semiconductors for power electronics, dielectrics with high permittivity and stable at high temperatures, and energy and sensor materials.
This centre will further advance conventional materials informatics and data science, construct a Materials DX (MDX) system that incorporates the 'wisdom of researchers in materials exploration', and discover and develop new materials at high speed and with high efficiency.

Creation of fully circular bio-adaptive materials driven by bio•polymer big data

Representing Institution: Kyoto University, National University Corporation

Principal Investigator: Keiji Numata

In order to realise Society 5.0, not only digital technology for cyberspace but also material technology to support an optimal real space is essential. Functional materials that capture carbon dioxide are essential for the realisation of carbon neutrality, and biomaterials that improve quality of life are indispensable for a Well-Being society. In this project, a platform for materials research and development based on Japan's unique big data and large-scale research facilities will be established at Kyoto University. The aim is to develop bioadaptive materials with attached functionality and self-healing properties, including high-toughness, environmentally low-impact polymers, highly recyclable polymers, QOL biomaterials and carbon dioxide capture and recovery materials, which are important areas for implementation.

DxMT Collabo

Representing Institution: National Institute for Materials Science

Principal Investigator: Masahiko Demura

As a horizontal skewering function of the DxMT project, it serves as an engine to promote the project through the development and sharing of common technical issues, public relations, and human resource development across the five centers. The common issues include the promotion of research DX and data-driven and computational infrastructure, and the working group will play a central role in collaborating with the five centers to resolve the common technical issues. In the promotion of research DX, we will use the research data collection and structuring system called RDE developed by NIMS to analyze the entire research flow and promote digitization. In the Data Driven and Computational Infrastructure, we will develop feature extraction technology focusing on the structure of materials in order to utilize data across domains. Through these activities, we aim to utilize data across the five centers and create results that transcend the domain.We will promote the DX of materials research in Japan as a keystone for collaboration with ARIM and Materials Data Platform (MDPF), which comprise the Materials DX Platform Construction Project.

Contact us about the project

DxMT Data Linkage Subcommittee Core Institution Secretariat
dxmt_office (at) ml.nims.go.jp
* Please replace (at) with @.