NEDO Feasibility Study Program

To address the construction of a sustainable and resilient social and economic structures, innovative technologies beyond conventional ideas are required. In particular, technologies and systems in the environmental and energy fields, such as solar panels and fuel cells, often require 30 years or more from basic research to practical implementation and societal integration. Therefore, in addition to promoting national projects aiming for practical applications around 2030, it is crucial to identify "technological foundations" targeted for a vision beyond 2040 and to foster the seeds of promising industrial technologies to ensure future international competitiveness.
Amidst the challenging competitive environment in recent years, private sector driving research and development in our country have prioritized results and it would be leading to shortened development periods. Initiating research and development projects taking more than 10 years to commercialize has become difficult. If this situation remains unchanged, there is a risk of a depletion of new technologies crucial for enhancing future industrial competitiveness and creating new industries through national projects.
Hence, this program aims to discover and nurture fundamental technologies expected to be practical and socially implemented after 2040 (more than 15 years from the start of feasibility study). The goal is to promote these technology developments to collaborative research within the academia-industry framework, including national projects, contributing to the realization of decarbonized society and the creation of new industries.

(1) Feasibility Study Program on New Technology

With the aim of realizing a decarbonized society and creating new industries, NEDO will discover and foster technology seeds with practical application and social implementation anticipated after 2040 (more than 15 years from the start of Feasibility Study Program). The implementation of feasibility study will be conducted to promote these technology developments to collaborative research within the academia-industry framework, including national projects.

[1] Feasibility Study Program on Energy and New Environmental Technology

[Target R&D Themes]

Promising technologies contributing to the realization of a decarbonized society and innovative technologies anticipated for practical use and social implementation after 2040.

[Implementation period]

Up to three years (only if an interim evaluation is conducted in the second year and approved for the third year).

[Project scale/type]

Total budget within 200 million yen (1st year: 100 million yen, 2nd year: 50 million yen, 3rd year: Up to 50 million yen) / Entrustment

[Implementation system]

Industry-academia collaboration system among companies, universities, public research institutions, and others*

*Universities, public research institutions: National and public research institutions, national and public university corporations, inter-university research institutions, public universities, private universities, colleges of technology, national research and development corporations, independent administrative institutions, local independent administrative institutions and their equivalents (hereinafter the same shall apply).

[2] Research and Development Program for Promoting Innovative Energy and Environmental Technologies Through International Collaboration

[Target R&D themes]

Innovative technologies that are expected to be put to practical use and social implementation after 2040 toward the realization of a decarbonized society, and the researches are to be conducted by Japanese universities and public research institutions in collaboration and cooperation with research institutions in other countries

[Implementation period]

Up to three years (only if an interim evaluation is conducted in the second year and approved for the third year).

[Project scale/type]

Total budget within 150 million yen (Approximately 50 million yen per year is the upper limit)/ Entrustment

[Implementation system]

Industry-academia collaboration system by companies and universities, and only by universities and public research institutions

[3] Feasibility Study Program on Creation of New Industries and Innovative Technologies

* This program integrates the Feasibility Study Program on Creation of New Industries and Innovative Technologies and Feasibility Study Program on Materials and Biotechnology until FY2022.

[Target R&D themes]

Promising technologies for the creation of new industries and innovative technologies, anticipating social implementation 15 to 20 years after the start of the project.

[Implementation period]

Up to three years (only if an interim evaluation is conducted in the second year and approved for the third year).

[Project scale/type]

Total budget within 200 million yen (1st year: 100 million yen, 2nd year: 50 million yen, 3rd year: Up to 50 million yen) / Entrustment

[Implementation system]

Industry-academia collaboration system among companies, universities, public research institutions, and others

(2) Uncharted Territory Challenge *Previous name: Uncharted Territory Challenge 2050

NEDO aims to conduct pioneering research on groundbreaking technologies for achieving fundamental reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, a greenhouse gas with a focus on envisioning solutions 30 years after the start of the project. This involves exploring and creating innovative technologies seeds that go beyond existing technologies and conventional ideas. The goal is to promote these efforts to collaborative research within the academia-industry framework, including national projects.

[Implementation period]

Up to 5 years (limited to interim evaluations conducted in years 2-3 and approved for implementation in years 3-4 and beyond).

[Project scale/type]

Approx. 5-20 million yen per year/ Entrustment

[Implementation system]

Industry-academia collaboration system by companies and universities, and only by universities and public research institutions

[Research areas]

[1] Next-generation power electronics, [2] Energy and system sensing, [3] Conductive Materials and energy conversion materials, [4] Super lightweight and heat-resistant structural materials, [5] CO2 Effective Unilization.

(3) Request for Information (RFI) and Consultation for Proposals *Please cooperate in providing information on technology seeds.

[1] Prior to the Call for Proposals, NEDO conducts a Request for Information (RFI) regarding technology seeds to establish research and development themes that should be addressed in this project. We kindly request your cooperation in providing information on technology seeds to serve as foundational information for issue setting in the upcoming Call for Proposals.

Note: Due to scheduling constraints related to issue setting, RFI is conducted within specific timeframes (Information for the 2023 RFI can be found here ↓).

RFI for "NEDO Feasibility Study Program/Feasibility Study Program on New Technology" (Available only in Japanese)

A total of six workshops were held from June 21 to June 30, 2023, on technology seeds submitted in RFIs until 2022.

Visionary incubation program (VIP) workshop on "NEDO Feasibility Study Program/Feasibility Study Program on New Technology" (Available only in Japanese)

[2] In addition to the above-mentioned request for information (RFI), NEDO Frontier and Moonshot Techmology Department accepts technical proposals and consultations throughout the year. If you wish to submit a technical proposal or consultation, please send the following information by email to the address below.

Feasibility Study Program on Energy and New Environmental Technology

• List of themes adopted in FY2023（76KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2022（80KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2021（173KB）
• List of the 2nd adopted themes in FY2020（149KB）
• List of the 1st adopted themes in FY2020（158KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2019（115KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2018（180KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2017（679KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2016（55KB）
• List of the 2nd adopted themes in FY2015（137KB）
• List of the 1st adopted themes in FY2015（100KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2014（109KB）

Research and Development Program for Promoting Innovative Energy and Environmental Technologies Through International Collaboration

• List of themes adopted in FY2023（37KB）

Feasibility Study Program on Creation of New Industries and Innovative Technologies

• List of themes adopted in FY2023（56KB）

• Former "Feasibility Study Program on New Technology for Creating New Industries"

• List of themes adopted in FY2022（63KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2021（76KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2020（88KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2019（41KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2018（122KB）

Former "Feasibility Study Program on Innovative Technologies in Materials and Biotechnology"

• List of themes adopted in FY2022（46KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2021（57KB）

• Uncharted Territory Challenge

• List of themes adopted in FY2023（41KB）

• Former “Uncharted Territory Challenge 2050“

• List of themes adopted in FY2022（87KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2021（79KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2020（97KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2019（44KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2018（32KB）
• List of themes adopted in FY2017（42KB）

Feasibility Study Program on Energy and New Environmental Technology

• Adopted themes for FY2019, 2020, and 2021 (post-evaluation of themes ending in 2021 and 2022)（677KB）
• Adopted themes for FY2018, 2019, and 2020 (post-evaluation of themes ending in 2020 and 2021)（639KB）
• Adopted themes for FY2018, 2019, and 2020 (post-evaluation of themes ending in 2020)（433KB）
• Adopted themes for FY2016, 2017, and 2018 (post-evaluation of themes ending in 2019)（203KB）
• Adopted themes for FY2015, 2016, and 2017 (post-evaluation of themes ending in 2017 and 2018)（734KB）
• Adopted themes for FY2014 (post-evaluation of themes ending in 2016 and 2017)（197KB）

Feasibility Study Program on Creation of New Industries and Innovative Technologies

Former "Feasibility Study Program on New Technology for Creating New Industries"

• Adopted themes for FY2020 and 2021 (post-evaluation of themes ending in 2022)（341KB）
• Adopted themes for FY2019 (post-evaluation of themes ending in 2020 and 2021)（407KB）
• Adopted themes for FY2018 and 2020 (post-evaluation of themes ending in 2020)（274KB）
• Adopted themes for FY2018 (post-evaluation of themes ending in 2019（131KB）

• Former "Feasibility Study Program on Innovative Technologies in Materials and Biotechnology"

• Adopted themes for FY 2021 (post-evaluation of themes ending in 2022)（171KB）

NEDO Feasibility Study Program

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