Power storage is necessary to use power effectively because solar and wind power generation fluctuates greatly according to weather and time. However, long-term, large-scale power storage is expensive, and a technology is needed to convert such energy into energy carriers that can be stored stably at a low cost.
Hydrogen is a typical energy carrier. We are working on a water electrolysis technology that converts electricity into hydrogen and an ammonia synthesis technology that converts hydrogen into ammonia, which is highly storable and portable (Figure 2). We are also developing a system for hydrogen storage and heat utilization to extract hydrogen in response to demand fluctuations. In this way, we are promoting the research and development of a hydrogen grid that can produce, store, and supply hydrogen in a distributed manner.

The demand side, where large amounts of energy are consumed (such as in factories), needs to conserve energy and implement CO₂ emission reduction technologies for CO₂ recovery and recycling. Most of the energy discarded from factories is discharged as heat, whose effective utilization is important for energy conservation in such facilities.
We are working at the demonstration level on heat management technologies, such as waste heat–powered air conditioning, which entails the use of adsorption heat pumps that utilize low-temperature waste heat. In addition, hydrogen conversion into methane enables the use of existing city gas facilities, thus enhancing the ease of using energy derived from renewable energy sources. Based on this idea, we are accelerating our efforts to implement C-LOOP®, a CO₂ recovery system with methanation (Figure 3) that circulates carbon and does not emit CO₂ from the factory facilities. The use of these technologies to enable factories to adjust their energy demand flexibly will be important for efficient energy use. Furthermore, we will promote research on facility design and production planning to make factories intelligent using machine learning and artificial intelligence. The goal is to minimize their energy loss and make them carbon neutral.
For carbon-neutral mobility, we are helping develop combustion technologies for carbon-free fuels, such as ammonia and carbon-circulating fuels (such as e-fuel). We are also working on other carbon-negative technologies, such as direct air capture and artificial photosynthesis.

The energy demand of a factory operating on renewable energy should be balanced with the supply of renewable energy.
We are studying an energy system design technology that mathematically designs optimal energy systems by combining the power grid, hydrogen grid, and demand-side technologies described above. This technology enables the design of cost-minimizing facility configurations among various combinations. We are also working on a grid-integrated EMS technology that optimally controls these designed systems. Here, we use digital twins to reproduce actual factory environments in a virtual environment and are working on system construction.
This grid-integrated EMS technology has a hierarchical basic structure. An upper-tier EMS commands only the energy distribution to each grid based on supply and demand forecasts. The lower-tier EMS is implemented in each device and autonomously determines its own operational protocols within the constraints of the command values of the upper-tier EMS. We have constructed a small-scale experimental hydrogen grid, an electric power grid, and a demand-side grid in-house and are conducting an energy management demonstration (Figure 4).
In the future, we believe that the grid-integrated EMS technology will allow multiple factories and communities to form a large energy network, where each grid will have the ability to function as a regulator of renewable energy.