Advanced Collaborative Research Organization for Smart Society (ACROSS)Waseda University

Yasuhiro Hayashi
Chairman of ACROSS

In November 2021, Waseda University issued the “Waseda University Carbon Neutrality Declaration” and has been working on the Carbon Net Zero Challenge by integrating research and education. With the aim of “realizing a carbon-neutral society”, Waseda University established the “Waseda Center for a Carbon Neutral Society (WCANS)”, which involves not only technology fields centered on science and engineering, but also humanities, social sciences, and interdisciplinary and emerging fields, with myself serving as its director. Within ACROSS, I serve as Chairman, and the directors of all the constituent research institutes concurrently serve as members of WCANS, ensuring that ACROSS’s activities are organically linked to the university-wide carbon neutrality initiatives.

Achieving a carbon-neutral society requires not only solving technical challenges but also transforming social and economic systems—specifically by promoting Green Transformation (GX), creating new value, building new business models, and fostering shifts in public awareness and behavior. From this perspective, ACROSS operates under a structure comprising 13 research institutes that integrate science and engineering with commerce, social sciences, and political economy, thereby intensifying our efforts to fuse the humanities and sciences.

A key feature of ACROSS’s activities is that we place the social implementation of research outcomes at the core of our mission. Specifically, we are engaged in activities such as technical demonstrations of smart meters and DRready equipment at the Waseda University EMS Demonstration Center, power control experiments for power networks including DER devices at Smart Grid test sites, and performance evaluations of smart city dynamics using Digital Twin Simulators. Furthermore, we are scaling up the results of these efforts for implementation in actual cities and islands. These initiatives contribute significantly to national policy, and we intend to align their outcomes with both domestic and international standards. We are committed to working in close partnership and collaboration with our member companies, sharing insights gained through various activities and ideas for solutions as we address the technical and policy challenges involved in realizing a carbon-neutral society.

We would appreciate your continued support and cooperation.

Satoru Shimokawa
Dean of ACROSS

Since the mid-2000s, the widespread application of information and communication technology (ICT) in everyday life has created new value and services. Waseda University viewed this trend as the early emergence of a smart society. To advance these activities, the university established the Advanced Collaborative Research Organization for Smart Society (ACROSS) in July 2014 as a core hub for industry-academia collaboration.
Meanwhile, the energy sector, a vital foundation of our society, has seen many changes. These include steady progress in power system reforms, further expansion of renewable energy, promoted use of demand-side energy resources, broader adoption of ZEB/ZEH, and the practical implementation of virtual power plants.
Amid these changes, ACROSS has built a solid track record toward realizing the ideal smart society. Grounded in collaborative frameworks of the “Promotion Association for Smart Society Technology” and the “Study Group for Smart Society Technology,” the institute has produced diverse research results while contributing significantly to institutional design and standardization.

ACROSS has designated the five-year period starting in fiscal year 2024 as “Phase III.” By establishing new project research institutes and further strengthening industry-academia collaboration, we are actively expanding our research domains and deepening our academic content.
In July 2026, the Cabinet approved “Japan’s Growth Strategy,” designating “Resources, Energy Security, and GX” as one of seventeen strategic fields. Furthermore, the GX2040 Vision—crafted to share long-term GX directions between the public and private sectors—emphasizes key individual domains, including energy, storage batteries, next-generation vehicles, railways, logistics and mobility, housing and buildings, and food, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. These represent primary areas where ACROSS has consistently focused its research. We take pride in delivering pioneering achievements in cross-sector management and system optimization, particularly across integrated areas such as housing and energy, power and transportation, and food and energy.
In addition, recent key policy measures indicate a broader shift from “target setting” to “mandates and execution,” as demonstrated by the 7th Strategic Energy Plan’s FY2040 targets (a 73% GHG reduction and a 40–50% renewable energy ratio), alongside the 2026 launch of the GX-ETS and GX investments under the revised GX Promotion Act. At this pivotal turning point, we will maintain our continuous efforts to ensure our research outcomes serve as the technological and institutional foundation for achieving GX goals and realizing a smart society.