As Elon Musk pushes out from his California base to make electric vehicles ubiquitous, a Japanese firm deep in the depths of the battery supply chain is riding his wake. Tanaka Chemical Corp., which has a long history in developing battery materials, says it's boosting ...

Researchers at an Osaka-based firm are closing in on a safer generation of batteries that could weather extreme temperatures in outer space. At least that's what Hitachi Zosen Corp. is betting on. The company, better known for building plants that convert waste to energy, is ...

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are in a neck-and-neck race to be the biggest lead arrangers of lending to the renewable energy industry in the first half of the year, highlighting the more active financing role for Japanese banks ...

Panasonic Corp. will begin selling its residential fuel cell systems in the U.K. and Austria this year as it seeks to solidify its lead in a product category that some see as a stepping stone to harnessing hydrogen as the fuel of the future. Sales ...

Imagine a future when solar cells can be sprayed or printed onto the windows of skyscrapers or atop sport utility vehicles — and at prices potentially far cheaper than today's silicon-based panels. It's not as far-fetched as it seems. Solar researchers and company executives think ...

Elon Musk may think hydrogen-powered vehicles are rubbish, but Toyota Motor Corp. and a cadre of Japan's leading manufacturers are betting otherwise — and not just on cars. With the blessing of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Toyota is at the forefront of Japan's efforts to ...

Japan's biggest electricity wholesaler knows it will take more than cutting-edge coal technology to save the environment. The Electric Power Development Co., known as J-Power, is looking to build its first major power plant that burns natural gas as well as use more woody biomass ...

Organizers of an elaborate midwinter light display running until January along the Meguro River in downtown Tokyo, a popular cherry blossom viewing spot in spring, are going off the grid as a way to limit harm to the environment. Biodiesel fuel made from used cooking ...

With hurricanes threatening Florida and typhoons lashing Japan, a startup company working on the island of Okinawa is testing a wind turbine that could withstand winds that blow the blades off traditional machines. Backed by government grants and loans, Challenergy Inc., run by Atsushi Shimizu, ...