Renaissance Philanthropy Launches Japan Geologic Hydrogen RFI for Potential ¥1.6 Billion (~US$10M) Research and Drilling Program

Full press release is attached below:

RFI invites researchers, companies, and institutions in Japan and abroad to help shape a potential research and verification project under Japan's Global Startup Campus Initiative. Responses are due November 30, 2026.

Renaissance Philanthropy’s ASCENT program released its first Request for Information (RFI) to inform a potential research and verification project for up to ¥1.6 billion ($10 million) to accelerate Japan’s geologic hydrogen industry, as part of the International Research Program, a pilot activity of the Global Startup Campus (GSC) Initiative promoted by the Cabinet Office and Cabinet Secretariat of Japan. 

The RFI follows the recent appointment of Renaissance Philanthropy’s Dr. Douglas Wicks and Dr. Hide-Fumi Yokoo as inaugural Venture Directors of the GSC. In this role, Dr. Wicks will scope an international research and demonstration project for advancing geologic hydrogen within Japan. 

Japan also has one of the world's most developed hydrogen demand bases, spanning steel, chemicals, power generation, and mobility, with national targets to bring hydrogen supply costs to ¥30 per Nm³ by 2030 and ¥20 per Nm³ by 2050. Much of the planned supply depends on long-distance imports. 

This RFI evaluates the potential for a domestic resource of geologic hydrogen – a naturally-occurring gas produced within the Earth’s crust – which could lower costs and reduce the nation’s energy import dependence at the same time. Japan's geology — young volcanic basalts, peridotites and ophiolite fragments, active hydrothermal systems, and high heat flow — includes environments associated with geologic hydrogen generation. However, while much of Japan’s subsurface has been mapped and modeled, it has rarely been tested for geologic hydrogen. 

The RFI seeks practical input and feedback, including on the proposed program outline. The program anticipates pairing teams of Japanese and international researchers – from startups, universities, industry, and more – to develop geological hypotheses, mature prospective sites, and advance exploration and drilling technologies through three competitive stages over two to three years. The work could culminate in scientific verification drilling, potentially including one of Japan's first natural hydrogen wells.

Responses to the RFI will help shape that project's scope, structure, and milestones.

“Japan has spent the past decade building one of the world’s most advanced hydrogen economies. What it hasn’t yet done is look carefully underground for hydrogen of its own.

This RFI helps ensure any program is grounded in Japan’s real geology, regulations, and industrial needs, and built with the researchers and companies who know them best.”

— Dr. Douglas Wicks, Venture Director and Strategic Director of ASCENT

The initiative will be supported by Renaissance Philanthropy’s Chimaera Fund, the world’s leading nonprofit for geologic hydrogen, which will serve as a cross-program design advisory partner as the project is further developed.

“Around the world, geologic hydrogen is moving from scientific curiosity to an exploration frontier.

Japan brings something few countries can: deep subsurface expertise and a hydrogen market already waiting for domestic supply. We’re excited to help connect frontier researchers with Japanese institutions to find out what’s there – and accelerate its development.”

— Ishan Sharma, Director of the Chimaera Fund

RFI responses are due by November 30, 2026; later submissions may be accepted. Renaissance Philanthropy welcomes responses from organizations in Japan and abroad — geoscience researchers, exploration companies, drilling and service contractors, industrial and mobility hydrogen users, trading houses, and research institutions — whether or not they plan to apply to any future program.

Read the full RFI and submission instructions here. 

About ASCENT

ASCENT (Accelerating Science and Commercialization for Entrepreneurial Talent) is a Renaissance Philanthropy program selected by Japan's Cabinet Office under the Global Startup Campus Initiative. ASCENT helps Japan launch ARPA-style programs that turn research into breakthroughs and commercial ventures, trains Venture Directors through the Big-if-True Science accelerator, and supports early-career researchers through the BRIDGE fellowship.

About the Chimaera Fund

The Chimaera Fund is a philanthropic initiative of Renaissance Philanthropy that aims to rapidly and responsibly scale geologic hydrogen by the 2030s. Chimaera does not invest in companies. Instead, learning from what unlocked shale & geothermal industries, this program sponsors three compounding interventions: open-science demonstration wells, coordinated data platforms and breakthrough R&D programs, and effective public policy. You can learn more about this program here.