NEDO Moonshot R&D Program

NEDO’s Moonshot R&D Program is Japan’s cross-ministerial Moonshot framework for disruptive research aimed at the Japanese government’s long-horizon social goals. The program is managed through NEDO and the Cabinet Office science and innovation system, and it runs in Japan on an annual cycle with consortium-based participation. The scheme uses grant funding, with awards from 3.35 million to 33.5 million, and it requires collaborative teams rather than individual applicants. It is limited to Japan-registered and Japan-operating participants, and the published call materials show the program being used to pursue missions such as sustainable resource circulation through public solicitation and named project managers. The best fit is a team that can absorb long-horizon risk, coordinate across institutions, and show a technical path toward a defined Moonshot goal. NEDO’s role is operational: it supports project management and implementation while the policy frame stays above the agency level. That combination makes the program less about a small standalone grant and more about mission-driven research at national scale.

No upcoming rounds verified. Cadence: Annual.