Energy

Japanese investors celebrated Akira Yoshino's Nobel Prize win by purchasing stocks associated with the lithium-ion battery the researcher helped develop.

Japanese researcher Akira Yoshino, one of the three 2019 Nobel Prize winners for chemistry, is known as the father of the lithium-ion battery, which powers smartphones, laptops and countless electronic devices today. Expected to command a $65 billion global market by 2022, the battery will now drive the growth of electric vehicles and other next-generation autos.

Inspired by new ultrathin solar panels developed for satellites, a project led by Toyota Motor Corp. is experimenting with a sun-powered Prius that it hopes will one day operate without needing to be plugged in.

Japan's government will play a greater role in developing the nation's geothermal power resources, seeking to lower the barrier for private-sector investment in this lagging area of renewable energy.

Japan's Kansai Electric Power began transmitting power from a newly built dam in Laos on Friday, marking the completion of a troubled project that now stands nearly as high as the utility's Kurobe Dam, the tallest in Japan.

People living in areas without electricity in Africa are beginning to enjoy modern conveniences, thanks to solar powered gadgets they can rent from small shops.

Mauritius is embracing renewable energies such as solar and wind power, with Japan’s outstanding reputation for state-of-the-art technology making it the ideal investment partner

Nidec, the Japanese maker of precision motors, said Thursday it will form a Chinese joint venture with a unit of Guangzhou Automobile Group to develop and manufacture electric vehicle motors for the promising local market.

SoftBank Group Corp.’s massive Vision Fund is making its first-ever energy storage bet — and it’s on a rather unconventional type of battery.

Japanese engineering company IHI said Thursday it will soon conduct an extended pilot test on a turbine system that catches ocean currents and turn them into electricity, the first large-scale attempt to harness such ocean energy.