This report analyzes NEDO's Innovation Strategy Center's identification of frontier areas and strategy formulation for solving social issues and creating new industries, published in July 2025.
Key Points
1. Organizational Transformation to Innovation Strategy Center
- Reorganized from Technology Strategy Center (TSC) to Innovation Strategy Center in July 2024, introducing DARPA-style management methods
- Transformed to comprehensively promote from technology development to social implementation
- Realized rapid response to complex social issues through strategic shift from linear model to agile approach
2. Specific Frontier Areas in Six Technology Fields
- Sustainable Energy: Underground unused resource utilization, long-term energy storage systems
- Environment/Chemistry: Base metal recycling, chemical carbon source conversion technology
- Agri/Food Tech: Health food tech, forest resource circular utilization
- Digital: Power-saving information processing, social infrastructure prediction platform, automation technology
- Materials: Extreme environment-compatible material development, Bioeconomy: Renewable raw material conversion technology
3. MFT Framework Strategic Analysis Method
- Adopted comprehensive analysis approach with three axes: Mission/Market, Function, Technology
- Reverse-calculated necessary technologies from social issues using backcast approach
- Comprehensive evaluation based on five perspectives: future potential, technological innovation, Japan's advantages, private sector difficulty, important economic security technologies
4. Contribution to Sustainable Social System Construction
- Set four priority areas: circular economy, bioeconomy, sustainable energy, DX
- Promote new industry creation by strengthening cooperation with industry, startups, and financial institutions
- Ensure reliable outcome creation through consistent management from technology development to social implementation
5. Continuous Improvement and Policy Recommendation Function
- Flexible response to social changes through annual updates reflecting latest trends
- Strategic promotion of specific policy recommendations to government agencies and industry-academia-government cooperation
- Contribution to overall innovation ecosystem development and international competitiveness enhancement
The article concludes that NEDO has evolved from a traditional technology development organization to an innovation strategy organization that comprehensively promotes social implementation, presenting a concrete roadmap for solving Japan's social issues and creating new industries.