The University of Tokyo and DENSO Sign Industry-Academia Co-Creation Agreement
The University of Tokyo and DENSO have signed a 10-year comprehensive industry-academia co-creation agreement starting April 1, 2026, marking the university's first long-term organizational partnership in the mobility sector. The collaboration aims to redefine mobility as a social system that circulates energy and utilizes data to address complex societal challenges like carbon neutrality and aging demographics.
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- 📰 Published: March 30, 2026 at 23:10
- 🔍 Collected: March 30, 2026 at 22:56
The University of Tokyo (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; President: Teruo Fujii; hereinafter "The University of Tokyo") and DENSO Corporation (Kariya, Aichi; President and CEO: Shinnosuke Hayashi; hereinafter "DENSO") will enter into a 10-year industry-academia co-creation agreement effective April 1, 2026. This co-creation project represents the first long-term, comprehensive, organization-to-organization partnership for The University of Tokyo in the mobility sector.
This co-creation agreement is based on the shared vision: "Toward a society that fills up as you drive: Future social value expanding from mobility." While mobility has historically enhanced convenience for people, it has also faced challenges regarding energy consumption and time constraints associated with travel. This project aims to solve these issues by evolving mobility itself into a source that generates new social value by circulating energy and accumulating and utilizing data. By deepening the integration of energy, data, and urban infrastructure starting from mobility, the project will strive to build a sustainable social system that also contributes to improving human well-being.
[Image Caption: From left, DENSO President and CEO Shinnosuke Hayashi, The University of Tokyo President Teruo Fujii]
■ Background and Purpose: A Turning Point for Mobility
The mobility industry is currently at a major turning point due to advancements in electrification and intelligence. With the spread of electric vehicles, the overall state of energy, including charging infrastructure and power supply and demand, has become a critical issue. Furthermore, as technological development for autonomous driving progresses, there is a need to secure computing resources and energy utilization with a long-term perspective. Under these circumstances, travel, energy, data, and urban infrastructure are becoming interconnected, making optimization across society as a whole essential.
Moreover, the challenges facing modern society—such as the realization of carbon neutrality, the intensification of energy constraints, the progression of a declining birthrate and aging population, and the demand for a society with zero traffic accident fatalities—are intricately intertwined, making it difficult to respond adequately through the advancement of individual technologies alone.
Given this background, this co-creation project redefines mobility not merely as a means of transportation, but as a "social system" that connects energy, data, and urban infrastructure, and takes on the challenge of realizing it.
The University of Tokyo possesses knowledge spanning mathematical optimization, urban design, autonomous driving control, safety assurance theory, and semiconductor design. Meanwhile, DENSO has extensive expertise and implementation capabilities in electrification and intelligence technologies cultivated over many years in the mobility sector, as well as in automotive semiconductors and software. By collaborating, both parties will work together not only in the mobility sector but also on the advancement of foundational technologies such as semiconductors, AI, and software, as well as the development of human resources to support them, aiming for sustainable value creation from research to social implementation.
■ Four Priority Themes of the Co-Creation Agreement
Specifically, the project will address the following four priority themes:
(1) Creation of Social Value through Energy Circulation and Data Linkage
Using Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT, Note 1) and mathematical optimization as core technologies, the project will consider energy supply and mobility usage in an integrated manner—not only in cities but also in logistics networks including expressways—to build social infrastructure that minimizes excessive loads on the power grid. By optimizing infrastructure installation based on travel demand and traffic flow, the project aims to increase economic viability and realize a society where energy and mobility are in harmony.
In particular, DWPT is a technology that allows vehicles to receive power wirelessly while in motion. If social implementation progresses, it is expected to liberate users from the act of charging. Mobility will not just be an energy consumer, but will support energy circulation as a "moving battery" that returns energy accumulated through travel back to society, leading to the construction of a new decentralized and open energy usage model.
(2) Evolution of Mobility in Coordination with Social Infrastructure
To structurally reduce traffic accidents and congestion, the project will work toward realizing mobility that can make safe and continuous situational judgments by linking safety assurance and security technologies with social infrastructure. To support mobility that can continue to run safely while anticipating various risks such as uncertainty and delays in necessary information, external attacks, and equipment failures, the project will also work on reliability design for information and route optimization that is energy-conscious.
(3) Strengthening and Deepening the Technical Foundation for Sustainable Value Creation
In addition to the ongoing construction of a next-generation production system operation platform (Note 2), the project will work to strengthen and deepen the technical foundation for realizing carbon neutrality and zero traffic accident fatalities. Specifically, it will advance foundational technologies such as automotive SoC design, software, AI, and semiconductors, while building a system that encompasses operational foundations including manufacturing and maintenance, aiming to establish a technical base that continuously generates value.
(4) Development of Advanced Human Resources to Conceive and Implement Future Society
The project will utilize the above research and demonstration activities as a venue for education to foster advanced human resources capable of conceiving and implementing a future society. Targeting everyone from students to working professionals, the project will cultivate individuals who can think by connecting research, demonstration, and system design, and who can take charge of social implementation, while also building a mechanism to sustain industry-academia co-creation efforts.
This is a practical education program where industry and academia collaborate, incorporating research and development sites and social demonstration venues into education to foster the ability to think by connecting technology and society.
Through these four priority themes, the project aims to realize a social system where energy circulates starting from mobility, data is utilized for the optimization of society as a whole, and people's possibilities for time and action are expanded. By fusing the academic knowledge of The University of Tokyo with the knowledge and technology of DENSO in the mobility sector, the project will promote everything from research to demonstration, system design, social implementation, and human resource development in an integrated manner, taking on the challenge of building a sustainable social system that creates new value for society.
Comments
● Teruo Fujii, President, The University of Tokyo
In Japan, which is not rich in resources, implementing new mechanisms for energy acquisition and circulation in society has immense significance. In that sense, I am convinced that the vision of "Toward a society that fills up as you drive" offers great potential and hope, even considering the current global situation. I believe that one of the roles expected of our university is to combine DENSO's excellent implementation capabilities with our university's diverse knowledge to find clues to overcome the various difficulties spreading across the world. I will work together with DENSO so that this co-creation agreement, based on academic knowledge with new ideas, will help overcome global difficulties and lead to the realization of a more sustainable and affluent society.
● Shinnosuke Hayashi, President and CEO, DENSO Corporation
Now that the world is in the midst of a major structural transformation, social issues such as resources, energy, the environment, and safety can no longer be solved by a single company alone. Especially in Japan, which faces resource constraints, I believe it is important to concentrate knowledge and technology and implement new value-creation mechanisms in society. Since its founding, DENSO has faced social issues starting from mobility, but in the coming era where society and mobility are more deeply connected, the question of what value we will continue to deliver to the world is being asked again. This co-creation is a challenge to connect the upstream knowledge of The University of Tokyo with DENSO's technology and implementation capabilities to convert them into social value. Through this challenge, we will enhance Japan's competitiveness and value, and contribute to the world.
Note 1: Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) is a technology that allows vehicles to receive power wirelessly from equipment embedded in the road while driving. It is also called wireless power transfer while driving or Electric Road System (ERS). It enables vehicles to be used not just as energy-consuming entities, but as decentralized energy storage devices that support energy supply and demand. Prior to this co-creation agreement, DENSO and the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo established the "Decarbonized Mobility and Infrastructure Strategy" social cooperation research department on October 1, 2025.
https://www.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ja/research/department_center/Decarbonized-Mobility-Infrastructure-Strategy/
Note 2: Prior to this co-creation agreement, DENSO and the Graduate School of Engineering at The University of Tokyo established the "Construction of a Next-Generation Production System Operation Platform for Sustainable Development Utilizing AI Technology" social cooperation program on April 1, 2025.
https://denso.fa.race.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/
This co-creation agreement is based on the shared vision: "Toward a society that fills up as you drive: Future social value expanding from mobility." While mobility has historically enhanced convenience for people, it has also faced challenges regarding energy consumption and time constraints associated with travel. This project aims to solve these issues by evolving mobility itself into a source that generates new social value by circulating energy and accumulating and utilizing data. By deepening the integration of energy, data, and urban infrastructure starting from mobility, the project will strive to build a sustainable social system that also contributes to improving human well-being.
[Image Caption: From left, DENSO President and CEO Shinnosuke Hayashi, The University of Tokyo President Teruo Fujii]
■ Background and Purpose: A Turning Point for Mobility
The mobility industry is currently at a major turning point due to advancements in electrification and intelligence. With the spread of electric vehicles, the overall state of energy, including charging infrastructure and power supply and demand, has become a critical issue. Furthermore, as technological development for autonomous driving progresses, there is a need to secure computing resources and energy utilization with a long-term perspective. Under these circumstances, travel, energy, data, and urban infrastructure are becoming interconnected, making optimization across society as a whole essential.
Moreover, the challenges facing modern society—such as the realization of carbon neutrality, the intensification of energy constraints, the progression of a declining birthrate and aging population, and the demand for a society with zero traffic accident fatalities—are intricately intertwined, making it difficult to respond adequately through the advancement of individual technologies alone.
Given this background, this co-creation project redefines mobility not merely as a means of transportation, but as a "social system" that connects energy, data, and urban infrastructure, and takes on the challenge of realizing it.
The University of Tokyo possesses knowledge spanning mathematical optimization, urban design, autonomous driving control, safety assurance theory, and semiconductor design. Meanwhile, DENSO has extensive expertise and implementation capabilities in electrification and intelligence technologies cultivated over many years in the mobility sector, as well as in automotive semiconductors and software. By collaborating, both parties will work together not only in the mobility sector but also on the advancement of foundational technologies such as semiconductors, AI, and software, as well as the development of human resources to support them, aiming for sustainable value creation from research to social implementation.
■ Four Priority Themes of the Co-Creation Agreement
Specifically, the project will address the following four priority themes:
(1) Creation of Social Value through Energy Circulation and Data Linkage
Using Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT, Note 1) and mathematical optimization as core technologies, the project will consider energy supply and mobility usage in an integrated manner—not only in cities but also in logistics networks including expressways—to build social infrastructure that minimizes excessive loads on the power grid. By optimizing infrastructure installation based on travel demand and traffic flow, the project aims to increase economic viability and realize a society where energy and mobility are in harmony.
In particular, DWPT is a technology that allows vehicles to receive power wirelessly while in motion. If social implementation progresses, it is expected to liberate users from the act of charging. Mobility will not just be an energy consumer, but will support energy circulation as a "moving battery" that returns energy accumulated through travel back to society, leading to the construction of a new decentralized and open energy usage model.
(2) Evolution of Mobility in Coordination with Social Infrastructure
To structurally reduce traffic accidents and congestion, the project will work toward realizing mobility that can make safe and continuous situational judgments by linking safety assurance and security technologies with social infrastructure. To support mobility that can continue to run safely while anticipating various risks such as uncertainty and delays in necessary information, external attacks, and equipment failures, the project will also work on reliability design for information and route optimization that is energy-conscious.
(3) Strengthening and Deepening the Technical Foundation for Sustainable Value Creation
In addition to the ongoing construction of a next-generation production system operation platform (Note 2), the project will work to strengthen and deepen the technical foundation for realizing carbon neutrality and zero traffic accident fatalities. Specifically, it will advance foundational technologies such as automotive SoC design, software, AI, and semiconductors, while building a system that encompasses operational foundations including manufacturing and maintenance, aiming to establish a technical base that continuously generates value.
(4) Development of Advanced Human Resources to Conceive and Implement Future Society
The project will utilize the above research and demonstration activities as a venue for education to foster advanced human resources capable of conceiving and implementing a future society. Targeting everyone from students to working professionals, the project will cultivate individuals who can think by connecting research, demonstration, and system design, and who can take charge of social implementation, while also building a mechanism to sustain industry-academia co-creation efforts.
This is a practical education program where industry and academia collaborate, incorporating research and development sites and social demonstration venues into education to foster the ability to think by connecting technology and society.
Through these four priority themes, the project aims to realize a social system where energy circulates starting from mobility, data is utilized for the optimization of society as a whole, and people's possibilities for time and action are expanded. By fusing the academic knowledge of The University of Tokyo with the knowledge and technology of DENSO in the mobility sector, the project will promote everything from research to demonstration, system design, social implementation, and human resource development in an integrated manner, taking on the challenge of building a sustainable social system that creates new value for society.
Comments
● Teruo Fujii, President, The University of Tokyo
In Japan, which is not rich in resources, implementing new mechanisms for energy acquisition and circulation in society has immense significance. In that sense, I am convinced that the vision of "Toward a society that fills up as you drive" offers great potential and hope, even considering the current global situation. I believe that one of the roles expected of our university is to combine DENSO's excellent implementation capabilities with our university's diverse knowledge to find clues to overcome the various difficulties spreading across the world. I will work together with DENSO so that this co-creation agreement, based on academic knowledge with new ideas, will help overcome global difficulties and lead to the realization of a more sustainable and affluent society.
● Shinnosuke Hayashi, President and CEO, DENSO Corporation
Now that the world is in the midst of a major structural transformation, social issues such as resources, energy, the environment, and safety can no longer be solved by a single company alone. Especially in Japan, which faces resource constraints, I believe it is important to concentrate knowledge and technology and implement new value-creation mechanisms in society. Since its founding, DENSO has faced social issues starting from mobility, but in the coming era where society and mobility are more deeply connected, the question of what value we will continue to deliver to the world is being asked again. This co-creation is a challenge to connect the upstream knowledge of The University of Tokyo with DENSO's technology and implementation capabilities to convert them into social value. Through this challenge, we will enhance Japan's competitiveness and value, and contribute to the world.
Note 1: Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) is a technology that allows vehicles to receive power wirelessly from equipment embedded in the road while driving. It is also called wireless power transfer while driving or Electric Road System (ERS). It enables vehicles to be used not just as energy-consuming entities, but as decentralized energy storage devices that support energy supply and demand. Prior to this co-creation agreement, DENSO and the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo established the "Decarbonized Mobility and Infrastructure Strategy" social cooperation research department on October 1, 2025.
https://www.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ja/research/department_center/Decarbonized-Mobility-Infrastructure-Strategy/
Note 2: Prior to this co-creation agreement, DENSO and the Graduate School of Engineering at The University of Tokyo established the "Construction of a Next-Generation Production System Operation Platform for Sustainable Development Utilizing AI Technology" social cooperation program on April 1, 2025.
https://denso.fa.race.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/