Outline of The SB Research Group
The purpose of The SB Research Group is to promote innovations to social systems through secondary batteries. In order to realize the strong promotion of cross-industry exchanges and collaboration between industry and the academic community, the University of Tokyo acts as a platform for hosting open forums and committee meetings. To carry out innovations in social systems, moreover, it is necessary to provide consulting services, implement projects, create business models, and commercialize products. Our association does not directly participate in such activities but acts as a platform to support them.
A.Forums
The SB Research Group held its kick-off meeting, open to the public, in June 2008. Since then it has hosted forums about three times each year. All the forums have been held in the Yayoi Ichijo Hall near the main gate of the University of Tokyo's Agriculture Department. The main purposes of the forum are to share and discuss the most up-to-date information, to promote cross-industry exchanges, and to create opportunities for collaboration between industry and the academic community. On average, each forum attracts about 80 companies and 150~180 other participants.
B.Committee meetings
Persons from corporate members can participate gratis; other participants must pay an annual fee of 300,000 yen per committee..
1.Committee on Social Evaluation of Lithium-Ion Batteries
Our committee promotes battery-related businesses by discussing battery information management systems, battery reuse systems, and social systems that include evaluation, approval, and standardization of batteries for making commercialization possible, and presents proposals to society-in-general and administrative authorities.
2.Committee on Use of Stationary Type Lithium-Ion Batteries
The purpose of this committee is to discuss ways of introducing lithium-ion batteries into homes, buildings, data centers, local areas, power plants that use renewable energy, and transformer substations. In addition, it studies the introduction of lithium-ion batteries into smart grid systems and regional power supply management systems. In the context of studying the intellectualization and systematization of batteries, moreover, it makes proposals for government policies and the creation of new business models.
