Research and Development on New Energy Technology for Discovering Technology Seeds and Commercializing Developed Technologies

Project period: FY2007 onward, budget: 1.78 billion yen (FY2023)

With a focus on promoting the use of renewable energy sources, whose importance is indicated in Strategic Energy Plan and New Growth Strategy, this program provides R&D funding in two areas: 1. Support for new energy small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)/startups and 2. Demonstrations of far-sighted new energy technologies. By funding R&D and supporting the development of SMEs/startups under these two areas, NEDO seeks to diversify technology options and promote innovation in the new energy sector.

This program is also intended, in connection with the promotion of "Innovation Coast" concept, to contribute to the reconstruction and revitalization of the coastal Hamadori region of Fukushima Prefecture by enhancing support for technology development in renewable energy fields.

Program Summary

(1) Program Scheme

Under this program, NEDO employs the six-phase public solicitation process described below, which corresponds to levels of progress with R&D efforts and plans for commercialization, and provides R&D funding that supports in the two areas; "Development of new energy SMEs/startups" and "Demonstrations of far-sighted new energy technologies". Consistent with the aim of providing support for promising R&D activities, NEDO employs a staged review process to determine whether program participants are ready to proceed to subsequent phases of the program. Through this review process, participants may proceed from Phase A to Phase B of Addressing Social Issues, from Phase B to Phase C of the same framework, or from Phase α to Phase β of the Developing New Markets. A staged review process is not employed, however, for movement from Phase C to Phase D, with selections for Phase D determined solely through public solicitations for proposals.

Program Schemes

[1] Support for New Energy SMEs/Startups

Using a public solicitation process, NEDO selects proposals from SMEs/startups that promote the development of renewable energy and low-carbonization and decarbonization technologies and contribute to the creation of innovation. Consistent with the level of progress of their R&D efforts and plans for commercialization, NEDO provides R&D funding according to the following six phases.

- Addressing Social Issues Phase A: Feasibility Studies

As part of a collaborative industry-academia-government framework, NEDO provides funding so SMEs/startups that possess the seeds of technology may conduct feasibility studies on fundamental research necessary to realize commercial applications. In this phase, in order to support the development of technology to address social issues not being addressed by national projects or other means, NEDO solicits proposals for projects that address issues it has predetermined in advance.

Project period: Funding is provided for projects lasting up to one year. Funded amount should not exceed 12.5 million yen per theme in principle, with NEDO providing up to eight-tenths of funding, not exceeding 10 million yen.

- Developing New Markets Phase α: Feasibility Studies

With support from domestic venture capitalists and seed accelerators (hereinafter referred to as "VCs"), NEDO provides funding so SMEs/startups that possess the seeds of technology may conduct feasibility studies on fundamental research necessary to develop commercial applications.

Project period: Funding is provided for projects lasting up to one year. Funded amount should not exceed 15 million yen in principle, with NEDO providing up to two-thirds of funding, not exceeding 10 million yen.

- Addressing Social Issues Phase B: Fundamental Research

As part of a collaborative industry-academia-government framework, NEDO provides funding so SMEs/startups that possess the seeds of technology may conduct the research on fundamental technology necessary for commercial applications, such as R&D to improve the reliability and quality of underlying technologies, realize optimal system designs and operations, and address prototype production and data measurement issues. NEDO invites proposals that address social issues not being addressed by national projects or other means.

Project period: Funding is provided for projects lasting up to two years in principle. Funded amount should not exceed 62.5 million yen in principle, with NEDO providing up to eight-tenths of funding, not exceeding 50 million yen.

- Developing New Markets Phase β: Fundamental Research

With support from VCs, NEDO provides funding so SMEs/startups that possess the seeds of technology may conduct research on fundamental technologies necessary for commercialization, such as R&D activities to improve the reliability and quality of underlying technologies, realize optimal system designs and operations, and address prototype production and data measurement issues.

Project period: Funding is provided for projects lasting up to two years in principle. Funded amount should not exceed 75 million yen in principle, with NEDO providing up to two-thirds of funding, not exceeding 50 million yen.

- Phase C: R&D on Commercial Applications

NEDO provides funding so SMEs/start-ups that possess fundamental technology components with high commercialization potential can conduct R&D and demonstration of practical application technologies necessary for commercialization.

Project period: Funding is provided for projects lasting up to two years in principle. Funded amount should not exceed 225 million yen in principle, with NEDO providing up to two-thirds of funding, not exceeding 150 million yen.

[2] Demonstrations of Future New Energy Technologies

To realize the near-term commercial application of technologies that enable renewable energy sources to become primary sources of power generation, NEDO provides funding for demonstration projects.

- Phase D: Large-scale R&D Demonstrations

NEDO provides funding for demonstrations which address issues related to the large-scale introduction of renewable energy sources, such as reducing costs for power generation, overcoming location-related constraints, creating long-term sources of dependable power, and coexisting with region-specific renewable energy sources.

Project period: Funding is provided for projects lasting up to three years in principle. Funded amount should not exceed 600 million yen (450 million yen in the case of SMEs) per theme in principle, with NEDO providing up to one-half of funding (two-thirds in the case of SMEs), not exceeding 300 million yen.

(2) Requirements for Proposals

Common Requirements for All Project Phases

A. Under this program, proposals may only be submitted by SMEs (in phase D, corporations may also apply) registered in Japan and in capable of securing a base in Japan for the technology development activities described in the proposal. Proposals eligible for funding are those corresponding to the sectors listed under parts [1] and [2] below (i.e., sectors identified in Japan's Strategic Energy Plan and New Growth Strategy), that encourage the widespread use of renewable energy sources.

[1] Photovoltaic, wind power, hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass utilization, solar thermal utilization, and other sources of unutilized energy, excluding nuclear energy. The term "nuclear energy" refers to all types of energy released from atomic nuclei in the process of nuclear transmutation as defined in Article 3 of Japan's Atomic Energy Basic Act.
[2] New technologies (e.g., fuel cells, rechargeable batteries, energy management systems) that contribute to the diversification and diffusion of renewable energy sources.

Requirements for Individual Project Phases

[1] Addressing Social Issues Phase A

a. Joint universities or other research institutions in the implementation system as joint research partners
b. Themes must address the social issues identified by NEDO in its public solicitations.

[2] Addressing Social Issues Phase B

a. Implementation frameworks must include universities and other research institutions, for example, by including persons from universities or other research institutions in "external guidance and collaborators in committees"
b. Themes must address the social issues identified by NEDO in its public solicitations.

[3] Developing New Markets Phase α

Any of the following materials related to the investments must be submitted:

a. Copies of documents proving the investment, such as a confirmation of the reason for the investment, the investment agreement, etc., indicating that the investment has been made by VCs with respect to the proposal (the investment under such agreement must, in principle, have been made within approximately one year prior to the closing date of the public solicitation).
b. Confirmation of intent to invest (or consideration of investment) from VCs.

[4] Developing New Markets Phase β

Any of the following materials related to the investments must be submitted:

a. Copies of documents proving the investment, such as a confirmation of the reason for the investment, the investment agreement, etc., indicating that the investment has been made by VCs with respect to the proposal (the investment under such agreement must, in principle, have been made within approximately one year prior to the closing date of the public solicitation).
b. Confirmation of intent and rationale indicating that the VCs plan to invest (if selected, the applicant will be required to submit a copy of the investment agreement or other documents evidencing the investment within 30 days of notification of selection).

[5] Phase C

a. Proposals must include specific plans aiming for realizing commercial applications no later than three years after conclusion of project.
b. If there are legal restrictions pertaining to commercialization efforts, proposals must describe specific measures to address such issues.
c. Proposals must describe specific intellectual property strategies for realizing commercial applications.
d. Proposals must demonstrate that applicants have already established the basic technologies described in proposal (specifically, technologies developed during phases A and B of Addressing Social Issues framework in this program).

[6] Phase D

a. Proposals must include specific plans aiming for realizing commercial applications no later than one year after conclusion of project.
b. If there are legal restrictions pertaining to commercialization efforts, proposals must describe specific measures to address such issues.
c. Proposals must describe specific intellectual property strategies for realizing commercial applications.
d. The proposal must describe that applicants have secured a place to conduct demonstration research.
e. Proposals must demonstrate that applicants have already established the basic technologies described in proposal (specifically, technologies developed during phases A, B and C of Addressing Social Issues framework in this program).

For more details, refer to the Public Solicitation Guidelines at the time of the call for applications (only in Japanese).

(3) Call for Letter of Interest

In addition to the public solicitation period, NEDO calls for a "Letter of Interest" from enterprises considering applying for this program throughout the year (except for the public solicitation period). The "Letter of Interest" will be used as reference material in determining the target technologies for the public solicitation, so enterprises considering applying for this program are requested to download the Letter of Interest format, fill in the required information, and submit it by mail or E-mail. Fax submissions will not be accepted. All submitted documents and information will be properly managed and will be used only for the purpose of consideration for the launch of this public solicitation for proposals. Please note that submitted documents will not be returned.

Although submission of the Letter of Interest is not mandatory, please note that failure to submit may result in the technology not being selected as an eligible technology. Please note that submitting the Letter of Interest does not necessarily mean that the technology will be selected as an eligible technology.

Letter of Interest Form (64KB) (Available only in Japanese)

[Solicitation Period]
All year round except for the public solicitation period

[Submit to]
Platform Group, Innovation Promotion Department, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)
MUZA Kawasaki Central Tower 20F, 1310 Omiya-cho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-city, Kanagawa 212-8554, Japan
E-MAIL: venture-pfg@nedo.go.jp

(Available only in Japanese)

Selected Cases

(Available only in Japanese)

- Solar Photovoltaic Power

- Biomass

- Fuel Cells & Storage Batteries

- Wind Power & Other Unutilized Energy

Program Results (Library Shots)

Play（3min. 07sec）
(Available only in Japanese)

New Energy Venture Technology Innovation Program

Program name: Development of Solar Cell Array Failure Diagnosis Technology
Implementer：System JD Co., Ltd.
Program period: FY2009 - FY2012
This video will show a device that inspects a large number of solar cell modules at one time

Play（3min. 41sec）
(Available only in Japanese)