Next-gen EVB project to be led by Professor Matsubara (18 May 2016)

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On 18 May, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) announced the launch of a new electric vehicle battery (EVB) R&D project, RISING II, to be led by Dr Eiichiro Matsubara, Professor at the Graduate School of Engineering and Deputy Director of the KU Office of Society-Academia Collaboration for Innovation (SACI), and hosted by Kyoto University and the Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (AIST).

This new initiative aims to build on the recently concluded RISING Battery Project (RISING: Research & Development Initiative for Scientific Innovation of New-Generation Batteries), which from October 2009 through March 2016 was led by KU Professor Emeritus Zempachi Ogumi. The original RISING project envisioned the advent in 2030 of affordably-priced battery electric vehicles (BEVs) that would be capable of the same level of performance as gas-driven cars, and RISING II aims to bring this vision ever closer to reality.

RISING II will run for five years on a total budget of 150 to 180 million yen, with 10 car and battery manufacturers, 16 universities, and four research institutes taking part.

Next-generation EVBs are expected to deliver a dramatic performance improvement over lithium-ion battery (LIB) vehicles

Front row, from left: AIST Kansai Director Yasuo Hasegawa, Professor Matsubara, NEDO Chairman Kazuo Furukawa, and Professor Emeritus Ogumi

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