A third round of Japan's subsidy for next-generation reactor development opened on 11 November with a short fuse. Applications close at noon on Friday 11 December 2026, and the call says it expects single-year projects that run from the grant decision to 26 February 2027.
What the money covers
The subsidy, funded under the supplementary budget for the year to March 2026, backs two kinds of work on innovative light water reactors and small light water reactors. One is technology development: analysis and testing of new safety measures for innovative reactors, and of elements that raise the competitiveness of Japan's established supply chain for small reactors. The other is supply-chain upgrading: research, manufacturing-technology development and manufacturing demonstrations for equipment, parts and materials.
The subsidy rate is up to one-half of eligible costs. The ceiling is ¥2.7bn, including national treasury debt obligation acts, against a project value of ¥5.4bn. The final scope and grant amount will be set after adjustment between the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the secretariat.
A short runway
The call says this round is meant to pick projects that speed up development and industrial-base work from next year onward, so it is in principle a single-year call. Multi-year bids are still possible, but the call warns they are likely to be awarded as single-year projects and that the implementation period will be very short. Award decisions and grant notices are pencilled in for late December 2026.
Applicants are asked to email by about 30 November if they intend to bid, though a bid without that notice is allowed. No briefing session will be held. Questions are taken by email from 11 to 30 November. Applications go through the jGrants portal, which needs a GBizID Prime account that can take about two weeks to obtain.
Conditions that bite
Applicants must be Japan-based private organisations. They must also set emissions targets for domestic Scope 1 and 2 emissions, with third-party verification and annual reporting and publication of results. If a target is missed, they must buy eligible credits or report and publish the reason for the shortfall. GX League or GX Future League members are treated as meeting the requirement. Companies whose 2022 CO2 emissions were under 200,000 tonnes, and small and medium-sized enterprises, may instead submit other emissions-cutting measures.
Wage action earns bonus points: planned pay rises of at least 3% for large companies and 1.5% for smaller ones. An applicant that ticks "planned" but has not told employees by the grant decision will, in principle, not receive a grant.
Selection is closed, and the call says no reasons for decisions will be disclosed. Applicants must show quantitatively that the project would fall short of investment thresholds such as internal rate of return or payback period without a subsidy. Costs ordered before the grant notice are not eligible. Fraud can bring cancellation, repayment with an additional charge at 10.95% a year, and public naming.
The Low Carbon Investment Promotion Organization runs the secretariat. Winners' names, corporate numbers and project titles are due to be posted on the secretariat's web page.