Promotion of Open Innovation

Connect with diverse players in the world and
open up paths to the next innovations

* Affiliation department / position as of 2019

Exchange and discovery of knowledge
/Industry-academia collaboration in a broad perspective

Industry-academia collaboration, which can be a source of new possibilities, is a major theme for Takasago Thermal Engineering, which has worked to cultivate its technological capabilities. In 2014, we signed two comprehensive partnership agreements. One is to promote partnership between Nagaoka University of Technology and Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) in a broad perspective. These initial seeds are beginning to come to a stage where green shoots can be seen in various directions.

Nagaoka University of Technology Comprehensive Partnership Agreement
MJIIT Comprehensive Partnership Agreement

The Nagaoka University of Technology is an institution that conducts educational research in engineering with the aim of developing practical skills, and is one of the two "Science and Technology Colleges" in Japan. With the motto, "Create GIGAKU with a proactive approach to societal change, produces engineers with practical, creative capabilities and a spirit of service who will lead society into the future" the Nagaoka University of Technology places emphasis on its graduate school and aims to establish itself as an indispensable member of global society. The university is also very active in collaboration with private enterprises, such as establishing the "Head Office for Industry-Academia-Government-Regional Collaboration and Intellectual Property." Mr. Masanori Inoue, Deputy Director of our Innovation Center, who has been involved in exchanges with the university since he led the Technical Laboratory and who has become one of the major bridges since the signing of the agreement, commented, "The fact that the university's enthusiasm for strengthening relations with a global perspective matched with the attitude of Takasago Thermal Engineering, and that they had almost all the departments of engineering made us think that they would be ideal as a collaboration partner in a broad perspective and was a decisive factor for the comprehensive partnership."
One of the themes of collaborative research with Nagaoka University of Technology is "Development of technology to extend the life of piping by high-performance fiber filtration." It is an attempt to extend the life of facility piping by selectively removing substances in water that cause corrosion of galvanized steel pipes. Takasago Thermal Engineering is developing a system to extend the life of facility pipes based on the results of basic research advanced by the materials laboratory at the university. Takasago has placed a development base within the Technical Development Center of the university, and has been implementing a three-year project since FY2017.

(Japanese Only)

In a project in which Hanoi University of Science and Technology-a close partner of the Nagaoka University of Technology- is also involved, joint research is being implemented under the theme "Improvement of CFD analysis technology in space air conditioning through SWIT®." For factories where SWIT ®(Swirling Induction Type HVAC System)-developed and provided by Takasago Thermal Engineering-is introduced, preliminary examination by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and actual measurements after construction are compared, aiming to improve prediction accuracy by reexamining the current modeling methods. Students from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology also participate, and are confirming the estimated and actual results of the analysis.
The "Technology workshop" is the place where the mainstay young researchers of Nagaoka University of Technology and engineers from Takasago Thermal Engineering interact with each other to explore future collaborative research themes. Starting with the areas of energy, water treatment, and AI in FY 2017, the participants are strengthening a wide-ranging dialog. Inoue says, "There are researchers with diverse initial ideas at Nagaoka University of Technology. We intentionally don't set limits on the themes and hope to have dialog that leads to future developments. We have great expectations not only for finding new materials that will lead to collaborative research, but also for gaining hints for our research."

On the other hand, the collaboration with the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology is based on the "Takasago Thermal and Environmental Research Laboratory" and the "Takasago Educational Research Support System," and Takasago Thermal Engineering is contributing 100 million yen over five years. The "Takasago Thermal and Environmental Research Laboratory," which is our research course, conducts research activities in the fields of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics and environmental science/engineering in Malaysia and ASEAN countries, especially in the field of renewable energy and energy-saving technology. In addition, the "Takasago Educational Research Support System" cooperates in research funding for research, education and researchers in a wide range of fields such as peripheral technologies related to Takasago.

In addition to these, we are also working on cooperation in specific areas. For example, Takasago Thermal Engineering Technical Laboratory has been working on practical application of a new heat storage technology using adsorbents with ZAE Bayern (Bavarian Centre for Applied Energy Research), which has a proven track record of this technology, through a wide range of technical exchanges.
In these ways, Takasago Thermal Engineering is expanding its network of R&D, promoting exchanges and explorations of knowledge, and continues to create opportunities for co-creation.

Encounters and Collaborations with Startup Companies/Accelerator Program

As an accelerator for open innovation, Takasago Thermal Industries started the "Takasago Thermal Engineering Accelerator Program" in FY2017. The company is pursuing creation of new value beyond the framework of conventional air conditioning equipment construction work. The aim is to create innovative businesses that realize a rich and pleasant living environment by multiplying the ideas, technology, and execution abilities of the startup with the resources of Takasago Thermal Engineering to grow the businesses and make them well-established in society.
In the first round that took place from September 2017, the three themes of "Smart Building/Smart Room (Building Space/Personal Space)," "Smart City (Regions/Infrastructure)," and "Smart Construction (Construction Site) (CON-TECH)" were set. Using "smart" as a common keyword, Takasago invited companies who wished to create new businesses or services by utilizing AI, AR/VR, IoT, robot technology, or BIM (Building Information Modeling), etc. After document selection and presentation selection, then interview selection on the final business idea, we planned to have the selected startups participate in commercialization projects in the next fiscal year.

As a result of the selection process, we chose two companies, Lilz Inc. and Green Continental Inc., who made unique proposals to utilize AI and IoT. With LiLz Inc, we have jointly developed an automatic meter reading cloud service "LiLz Gage" utilizing IoT cameras and machine learning.

In the second round, we revised the theme to a form that includes "Business plans to take on the challenge of new areas" so as not to be confined to the business areas of Takasago Thermal Engineering, and we started the public offering from September, 2018.
We chosed two companies, Nain Inc. and Zoomscape Inc. With Nein Inc, we have jointly developed a voice check service "Zeeny Pro" utilizing a hearable IoT device. Takasago Thermal Engineering will evolve into a company that continually creates innovation by engaging and collaborating with players in possession of diverse ideas.

Creating a Space for Innovation/Establishment of the Takasago Thermal Engineering Innovation Center

"A place of growth where diverse people gather and develop their dreams, a place of creation that connects knowledge and wisdom inside and outside the company, a place of dissemination to expand Takasago's technology to the world"
This is Takasago Thermal Engineering's vision for the "Takasago Thermal Engineering Innovation Center" established in Tsukuba Mirai City, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Every aspect of the center is designed on the premise of open cooperation with the outside. It is a low-rise building that is easy to enter, and when a visitor comes in through the entrance, they are welcomed by a spacious area. The abundant lighting and natural ventilation also enhance the open atmosphere. Of course, there is also space for external collaboration. For security - indispensable in terms of confidentiality - the level is adjusted for the area where visitors enter in order not to impair ease of use. We are also considering setting up an exhibition facility where children, who will be responsible for future innovation, can visit freely. The location near the station will also make the center a place that many people can visit.

According to Inoue, the future prospects are as follows, "Going forward, diversification and complication of various issues will progress, and it will be difficult to handle these issues with technologies from only the specialized areas of the past. The external environment is also changing rapidly. For that reason, it is important that we actively cooperate with people from different fields to strengthen our ability to look at issues in the round, our creative planning skills, and our rapid development capabilities, and evolve into a sturdy company that can solve various problems and continue to create innovation."