Hitachi– UTokyo Initiative “Hitachi–UTokyo Lab,”　A New University Corporate Collaboration Model for Solving Social Issues Through Shared Vision, Wins the Chairman Award of the Japan Business Federation, at the 8th Japan Open Innovation Prize.

2026-03-17

The initiative titled “A New University Corporate Collaboration Model for Solving Social Issues Through Shared Vision: Hitachi–UTokyo Lab,” jointly led by Hitachi, Ltd. (hereinafter “Hitachi”) and The University of Tokyo (hereinafter “UTokyo”), has received the Chairman Award of the Japan Business Federation, at the 8th Japan Open Innovation Prize, hosted by the Cabinet Office of Japan and other organizations. The award ceremony was held on February 9 at the Toranomon Hills Forum.

About the Japan Open Innovation Prize

The Japan Open Innovation Prize, hosted by the Cabinet Office of Japan and related organizations, is a commendation program established to further promote open innovation in Japan. It recognizes highly pioneering and innovative initiatives that are expected to serve as role models for the future.
Under this program, awards are presented in various categories—including Minister’s Awards, Commissioner’s Awards, and Chairman’s Awards from economic and academic organizations—to initiatives that exemplify best practices in open innovation, generate significant social impact, and demonstrate sustainability. Among these award-winning initiatives, the most outstanding one is further selected for the Prime Minister’s Award.

Award Details

Award Title
The Japan Open Innovation Prize – Chairman’s Award of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren)
Award-Winning Initiative
A New University Corporate Collaboration Model for Solving Social Issues Through Shared Vision:
“Hitachi–UTokyo Lab”
Award Recipients
Hitachi, Ltd. And The University of Tokyo

Details of the Award-Winning Initiative: “Hitachi–UTokyo Lab”

The Hitachi–UTokyo Lab was established in 2016 as the first project under UTokyo’s University Corporate Collaboration framework*1. With the aim of creating a vision to realize the Japanese government’s Society 5.0 concept, the Lab has engaged in proposal-oriented activities focused on energy systems.
While conventional industry–academia collaborations typically involve universities providing technical solutions to individual technological challenges faced by companies, the Hitachi–UTokyo Lab proposes a new model. In this model, researchers from industry and academia work together as equals to address social issues, jointly contributing their respective technologies and ideas, and communicating to society an integrated vision and solutions for complex social challenges. This represents a new organization-to-organization, vision-sharing University Corporate Collaboration model.
A defining feature of this approach is that the proposed solutions are based on highly reliable, evidence-based analysis derived from the combined technologies and ideas of both industry and academia, and are widely shared with society.

*1）June 20, 2016 News Release　 Establishment of the “Hitachi The University of Tokyo Laboratory”

In addressing complex challenges in the energy sector, the Hitachi–UTokyo Lab has emphasized not only technological solutions for power systems, but also extensive dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders in order to fully consider the broader societal impacts. To date, the Lab has conducted workshops and discussions with more than ten sectors, including:

Energy sectors such as electric power
Industrial sectors including chemicals, steel, and automotive
The information and communications sector related to the rapid expansion of data centers
The commercial sector, including wholesale and retail
The financial sector shaping finance toward carbon neutrality
Local governments responsible for regional administration

Through these multi-stakeholder discussions, the Lab has deepened understanding of complex energy-related challenges and analyzed their impacts on society.

As part of its core theme—vision creation for energy systems toward carbon neutrality—the Hitachi–UTokyo Lab has held eight open University Corporate Collaboration forums to date. Based on the discussions at these forums, the Lab has published up to the seventh edition of its proposal report titled:
“Toward the Realization of Energy Systems that Support Society 5.0.”
The forums have attracted a cumulative total of more than 4,000 participants, and the proposal reports have recorded over 20,000 page views/downloads, demonstrating that the outcomes have been widely shared with society.

Key Evaluation Points

The judging panel commented that the initiative was highly commendable as:

A large-scale industry–academia collaboration in Japan, at a time when such collaboration is perceived as relatively weaker compared to that in the United States and other countries; and
A vision-creation initiative for realizing Society 5.0 in the energy domain, addressing a theme that is essential for the development of future growth technologies and for which social demand is extremely high.