Application Guideline

In order to accelerate innovations happening in the field of energy and environment, the Energy & Environment Innovation Community (hereinafter referred to as “the E&E community”), has been launched by CIC Tokyo and U3 Innovations in September 2021. We are seeking applicants (startups, researchers, etc.) to work together on the second social issue of the E&E innovation program.

This practical innovation program creates opportunities for collaboration between startups/researchers and corporations to solve specific social issues, and also accelerates collaboration with stakeholders such as local governments, central government agencies, investors, and research institutions. Specifically, Core Members of large companies participating in this community present the issues they want to tackle and seek startups, companies, and researchers who are expected to contribute to solving these issues together. Selected participants will be able to explore the possibility of collaboration with Core Members, for example, utilize the business fields and assets provided by Core Members, and collaborate with local governments and central government agencies to gain practical opportunities for social implementation.

This “social issue-solving innovation program” will work on one issue for a certain period of time, and it is planned to implement two or three issues in one year.

• The fourth social issue (YEAR 2: Issue 4)

Circular Economy～Realization of resource circulation in the energy & environment area～

• Background

Due to the explosive growth of the world’s population, the accompanying increase in demand for resources, energy, and food, the increase in the volume of waste, and environmental pollution caused by waste disposal, countries around the world are increasingly focusing on the realization of a circular economy in order to achieve a sustainable economy and environment. As the global economy grows at an accelerating pace and there are limits to the amount and speed of resources, energy, and food that can be developed, securing a stable supply of these resources is a particularly important issue from the perspective of security for Japan, which is largely dependent on overseas resources. The international situation and market changes in the circular economy are seen as an opportunity for further growth, and a shift to business models with high “circularity” and improvement of “resource efficiency” in business activities are required.

• Theme owners

In “Issue 2:Nature x Technology 〜Nature Based Carbon Neutral Solution〜”, the following Core Members will work with selected applicants;

• ★Main Theme Owner: Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. 

• INPEX Corporation
• ENEOS Holdings, Inc.
• Shimizu Corporation
• Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.
• Sojitz Corporation
• Mitsubishi Electric

Note that this E&E innovation program is not limited to collaboration with the above theme owners, but may lead to unexpected encounters, such as collaboration with other large companies and VC partners, etc. If you feel that this theme has some potential beyond the areas shown in (4) below, please do not hesitate to apply. The possibility of unexpected collaboration is a power and attractiveness of community-based innovation programs.

• Challenges & issues to the circular economy and solutions required by each theme owner

① Areas of particular interest in this theme and points that each theme owner feels are challenges in realizing the circular economy

② Startups, technologies, products, services, research outcomes, etc. that each theme owner are seeking (points for collaboration)

• ★ Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. 

• • ① Recycling and reuse of energy-related waste (coal ash, logging, driftwood, earth and sand, etc.)
  • ② Ideas and technologies that contribute to the “improvement of recycling rate and cost reduction for recycling” and “reuse” of the above wastes, etc.
• INPEX Corporation
  • ① Eliminate bottlenecks in the effective utilization of livestock manure, forest resources, and other unused materials.
  • ② Innovative technologies and ideas that contribute to resolving such bottlenecks
• ENEOS Holdings, Inc.
  • ① Circular Economy: Establishment of a garbage collection platform (bottleneck is the inefficiency of collecting garbage generated sporadically)

*Definition of garbage: the portion that includes not only general combustible garbage but also batteries, PV, etc.

• ② Trash collection efficiency, reuse/recycling technology

• Shimizu Corporation
  • ① Treatment of plastics generated in the construction production process (thermal recycling → mechanical recycling)
  • ② Ideas and technologies that contribute to the profitability of circular economy projects
• Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.
  • ① Reuse of storage battery facilities (mainly for household use)
  • ② Technology for predicting electricity consumption in general households, sales schemes for reused batteries, and logistics for collecting and reinstalling reused batteries
• Sojitz Corporation
  • ① Realization of sustainable agriculture and local economies through the use of recyclable food resources
  • ② Technology related to the recycling (upcycling) of business or household food waste (from sorting and collection to utilization and product sales, or part of it), life cycle assessment in food recycling, regional revitalization project proposals through food recycling (initiatives that can contribute to the region by taking advantage of regional characteristics), and enhancement of consumer value related to recyclable food products
• Mitsubishi Electric
  • ①
  • ② Advanced plastic sorting technology to realize circular economy

• Contents of the program

1. 1. 1. Presentation of issues and proposed resources to be provided to the startup by theme owners
      2. Pitches by selected applicants such as startups or researchers, a new business division of corporate, etc.
      3. Consideration of collaboration between applicants and large companies
      4. Introduction of collaboration examples through the Issue 4 program

• Eligibility

1. 1. You must be a company aiming for startup growth, a division of a company considering new business, a person considering starting a business, or a researcher with technology seeds. (Both domestic and overseas startups are welcome!)
   2. You must have an interest in “Issue 4: Circular Economy～Realization of resource circulation in the energy & environment area～” and wish to collaborate with Core Members and other members of the Energy & Environment Innovation Community.
   3. You must be able to pitch at the event scheduled to be held on March 10, 2023 (Please secure your schedule to speak at the pitch event. The time will be 6:00 – 8:00 pm JST and the location is CIC Tokyo (Toranomon Hills Business Tower 15F). If it is difficult for you to attend on-site, you can also attend online).
   4. Participants must be willing to follow the instructions of the secretariat (CIC Toranomon and U3 Innovations) to participate in the E&E innovation program.
   5. Agree to have your contact information and materials shared with and communicated to Core Members, Corporate Members, and VC Partners of this community.

• Program Schedule

• Application Period: January 25, 2023～February 24, 2023 11:59 pm JST
• Proposal Presentation by Core Members: February 14, 2023, 6:00 – 8:00 pm JST
  • Reverse Pitch Event by Theme Owners：https://energy-environment-reverse-pitch-4.peatix.com
• Notification of selected applicants to participate the pitch event: Early March 2023 (tentative)
• Pitches by selected applicants: March 10, 2023
• Program implementation period: February 2023 to April 30, 2023

• How to Apply

Please fill out the following application form (Google form). (It will take about 5 minutes to fill out)

✅E&E Issue 4 Program Application form：https://forms.gle/vWDQco31hXue3kDV8

• For inquiries

Please contact, CIC Tokyo (Masaru, Lisa)

env-startups@cic.com

＜About Energy & Environment Innovation Community＞

The Energy & Environment Innovation Community was launched by CIC Tokyo and U3 Innovations in August 2021. With the background of the recent increase of attention and interest in sustainability and carbon neutral, and the expectation of solving social issues through innovation, the community aims to create innovation through the growth of startups and collaboration among startups, large companies, research institutions, and government agencies by gathering stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem and conducting various activities throughout the year.

Specifically, we will create an innovation cluster in the energy and environment field consisting of startups, large companies, investors, research institutions, local governments, and central government agencies through events such as symposiums, meetups, networking, and matchmakings, as well as E&E innovation programs (community type acceleration programs) in which startups and large companies collaborate to address specific social issues. In addition, by utilizing CIC Tokyo’s network of overseas offices and collaborating with overseas innovation clusters, we will gather information from overseas and create new businesses that can capture the global market.

You can check more info of the community (events, community activities, etc.) from here：https://jp.cic.com/news/announce/ee_community/

We are currently looking for community members (free of charge for individual members of startups, entrepreneurs, researchers and companies) and sponsors (large corporate), so if you are interested in learning more about the programs of this community, please contact the Energy & Environment Innovation Community Secretariat (env-startups@cic.com).

You can apply to join the community for filling out this form：https://forms.gle/MkdMRPYzJrwf7rmu5

＜About the Energy & Environment Innovation Community Secretaria＞

CIC Tokyo

CIC Tokyo, which opened on October 1, 2020 on the 15th and 16th floors of Toranomon Hills Business Tower (approx. 6,000 square meters), is one of the largest innovation centers in Japan. It offers a vast workspace that can accommodate more than 250 companies and organizations, mainly startups (companies that are just starting out and aiming for rapid growth), as well as communities and services to accelerate business growth and global expansion.

Startup companies moving into CIC Tokyo will be able to use office space and a variety of common spaces in a free atmosphere. In addition, they will be able to participate in the innovation community in a variety of ways and build new relationships with key players in the ecosystem. CIC Tokyo has hosted more than 130 events related to startups and open innovation since its opening in October 2020 until the end of July 2021. CIC Tokyo has become a gathering place for many people.

U3 Innovations

U3 Innovations is a group of practitioners who aim to create and grow new businesses together with startups, specializing in the social systems field, especially energy. 

We aim to create businesses not only in the energy industry, but also in mobility, water, agriculture, housing, and other industries. Our members are already participating in the management of several startups, and in parallel, we are discussing the establishment of joint ventures for startup investment and collaboration.

In order to realize a sustainable future that encompasses diverse values, the concept of Utility 3.0, a new social system that goes beyond energy supply, was first presented to the world in “The Energy Industry in 2050: Game Change for Utility 3.0,” published in 2017. U3 Innovations was founded in 2018 by two of the book’s co-authors, Sumiko Takeuchi and Takeshi Ito.