Smart Grid Lab.

Mission

Our lab's mission is to enable people around the world to use renewable energy comfortably and freely. We conduct research to maximize the potential of renewable energy and pave the way for a sustainable future.

Vision

We focus on the connection between power and data to create a society that has access to sufficient renewable energy when it is needed. Through a data-driven approach, we seek to optimize energy systems.

Core Values

Enjoy the process

We value the process of challenge itself and approach even the most difficult research with a positive attitude.

Fail

We are not afraid to fail, and encourage new knowledge to be gained through proactive attempts.

Implementation-oriented

While starting from a grand vision, we aim for steady results on an implementable scale.

Adoption of new technologies and methods

We constantly challenge innovative ideas and technologies to promote progress.

Respect and Collaboration

We learn together, leveraging the wisdom of our team and respecting each other's expertise and diversity.

Communicate in English

We will emphasize collaboration with the global research community and improve our ability to communicate in English.

Embracing Uncertainty

We cultivate the ability to deal with unknown problems by constantly pursuing new knowledge and solutions without fear of uncertainty.

Our research is based on these values, each of which is essential to our goal of scientific progress and contribution to society

Collaboration

The SmartGrid Laboratory at the University of Tsukuba welcomes collaboration with industry partners.
1. How to proceed with collaborative research/academic guidance/consulting agreements
• An NDA agreement will be signed before commencing.
• Regular meetings (remote or in-person) will be held.
• Kodaira will answer questions and provide comments on technical matters, project progress, etc.
• Technical reports will be submitted for collaborative research.
• Handling of intellectual property: The rights to the developed source code and intellectual property (patents, etc.) will belong to the developer.
• A contract will be signed stating this.
• We request that communication be conducted via Slack whenever possible.
2. Costs and Content
We can discuss and adjust the frequency and content of meetings to suit your needs.
■ Plan A: [Joint Research] Problem Definition (Semi-annual, 2.2 million yen)
Specific Use Cases: Support for organizing specific issues toward achieving the medium-term plan and defining requirements for research and development projects, reviewing system requirements from an academic perspective, etc. Applicable to the pre-prototype implementation stage, or when your company is implementing the prototype.
• Duration: 6 months
• Price: 2.2 million yen (including consumption tax)
• Meetings: 2 hours once a month (online or in-person). At least 3 of the 6 meetings will be attended by Kodaira at your office. A member from the University of Tsukuba will take minutes.
• Personnel: In addition to Kodaira, depending on the theme, undergraduate or graduate students from the research lab may participate as work support.
• Email: We will respond to individual email inquiries.
• Technical investigation: Yes (If necessary, we will investigate the contents of approximately 10 papers and overseas reports and provide comments.)
• Deliverables: Results report (report)
■Plan B: [Joint Research] Prototype Design (5.5 million yen for half a year)
Specific Use Cases: Technical investigation and prototype implementation for projects with fixed deadlines.
For cases where you would like Tsukuba University to implement and then review the prototype.
• Duration: 6 months
• Price: 5.5 million yen (including consumption tax)
• Meetings: 2 hours once a month (online or in-person). Of the 6 meetings, Kodaira will visit your company's office for at least 3. A member of the Tsukuba University team will take minutes.
• Personnel: In addition to Kodaira, graduate students from the research lab will provide work support.
• Email: We will respond to detailed email inquiries.
• Technical Investigation: Yes (We will investigate the contents of approximately 10 papers and overseas reports as needed and provide comments.)
• Deliverables: Research report (slides, report)
■ Plan C: [Joint Research] Problem Definition ~ Prototype Design (7.7 million yen per phase)
• Duration: 1 year or more
• Price: 7.7 million yen (including consumption tax)
• Plans A and B are offered as a package.
■ Plan D: [Academic Guidance] Consulting Agreement (100,000 yen/month)
Specific Use Case: When you want regular reviews from an academic perspective on the system requirements under development, conducted under a consulting agreement.
• Period: Half a year or more
• Price: 100,000 yen/month
• Meetings: 2 hours once a month (online or in person). Of the 6 meetings, Mr. Kodaira will visit your office at least 3 times.
• Email: We will respond to questions via email.
• Technical Research: Yes (We will research the content of papers and overseas reports as needed and provide comments.)
• Deliverables: We will provide advice and consulting on business challenges. Deliverables will include comments and corrections to documents.
■Plan E: [Academic Guidance] Document Review (50,000 yen/session)
Specific Use Case: Review of materials and articles created by your company, etc.
- Duration: One-time session
- Price: 50,000 yen/session
- Meeting: Two 1-hour sessions
- Email: We will respond to questions via email
- Technical Research: None (Comments will be based on existing ideas and proven technologies within the research lab)
- Deliverables: Comments and corrections to the document, etc.
3. Past Project Themes
Among our past collaborative and commissioned research projects with companies, the most frequently requested themes include the following:
■ Optimization of Battery Storage Equipment Charge/Discharge Planning
Optimization of energy use for batteries, solar power generation equipment, and cogeneration systems in business premises and factories.
■ Electricity Retail and Aggregation Businesses
Evaluation of revenue structures for each market, such as supply and demand adjustment markets and spot markets, and procurement risk assessment. (Plan C)
■ Technical Exploration Consulting for New Businesses
Exploring business opportunities in anticipation of the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
■ Review of technical articles to be published in our own media (Plan D)

Current Collaborations

・Jan. 2024- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo: Working together to verify storage battery control tools, etc.

・May.2025～ENERES Co.,Ltd.：we have started “Contract Research on Retail Electricity Procurement Cost Optimization by Reinforcement Learning”Check herefor more info.

・2025年7月～2027年3月：NEDO Project

・2025年7月～2026年2月：電力データ活用支援等事業＿産業技術総合研究所