From December 3rd to December 16th, 2022, Lecturer Dr. AKITSUKI Shinichi of the Institute of Plankton Eco-engineering, Soka University, and Assistant Professor Dr. FUJIWARA Masaaki of Faculty of Science and Engineering visited Ethiopia. They launched research for Theme 2 "Development of nutrient and energy recovery technology".

　　　After arriving in Ethiopia on December 3rd, they visited the Kaliti Water Treatment Plant in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and collected inoculum for methane fermentation.
　　　From December 5th to December 14th, they went to Bahir Dar and visited the area where water hyacinths are overgrown with members in Ethiopia. They collected water hyacinths and crushed and pressed them. After that, they set up a methane fermentation experiment with local members and provided technical guidance on sample collection and analysis. They also visited a pilot facility.

　　　This site visit lets us realize again that Ethiopia lacks basic equipment for experiments, and that the provision of the equipment is essential. We are going to continue to cooperate with them so that research can be carried out smoothly on-site.