Aramco wins top honor for supporting next generation mobility research in Japan

AAJ representative director Omar M. Al Amudi, (seated, second from right) joins AAJ members and representatives of Chiba University for the presentation of the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon.

Aramco was recently recognized for its extraordinary contribution in support of developing next generation mobility for the well-being of the public by being awarded the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon under the name of the Emperor of Japan.

The conferral of the Medal of Honor is in recognition of Aramco's out-of-Kingdom commitment to Chiba University in 2017 for research and development in the field of the internal combustion engine for next-generation mobility.

Aramco Asia Japan (AAJ), headed by representative director Omar M. Al Amudi, recently visited Chiba University's main campus in Nishi-Chiba, about 30 miles east of central Tokyo. The university - a national university with approximately 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students - was established in 1949 under the current format, but could date its origin back to 1872.

Chiba University is known for its unconventional approach, such as being the first university in Japan that permitted grade skipping. One of its unique academic areas is its study on the combustion engine power train, enhanced by having its own research lab within the campus parameter.

Along with the AAJ participants, professor Yukihiko Sato, the university's vice president, and Yasuo Moriyoshi, director of the university's Center for Power Source Research for Next Generation Mobility, also attended the award ceremony.

The medal is awarded to individuals and /or companies that have made exceptionally generous contributions for the good of the public, conferred after the Decoration Bureau of the Cabinet Office has screened the candidates recommended by all relevant ministries for the Imperial sanction of the Emperor.

Driving cleaner, further with less

“Saudi Aramco continues its quest for unlocking the potential of fuels to enable energy savings and emissions reductions, and it is an honor to support one of the most renowned internal combustion engine research and development institutes in Japan to achieve its goal,” Al Amudi said after receiving the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon from Sato.

Moriyoshi highlighted the importance of the internal combustion engine and low octane fuel as an efficient key energy source in the transportation sector, emphasizing that fossil energy sources would continue to be competitive with the advancement of fuel efficiency with low carbon dioxide emissions.