For the second time, the EU-Japan Centre organised a Green Transition business mission to Japan for European SMEs. A group of 12 companies from France, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, and Spain, with technologies ranging from nanocoatings for hydrogen fuel cells to cable tracking for the offshore wind market visited Japan from 27 February to 1 March to develop their business in the Japanese market. On the first day, a pitch and networking event with Japanese companies was organised at the CIC Tokyo with the support of other partners such as JETRO J-Bridge.
Over the following three days, participants joined the EU Green Transition Pavilion at the Decarbonisation Expo, which took place as part of Smart Energy Week / Green Transformation Week at the Tokyo Big Sight International Exhibition Centre. Participating companies had a small exhibition and poster space to present themselves. The translation of their posters into Japanese, arranged by the EU-Japan Centre, and the interpreters available to help with communication at the stand were much appreciated by the participants. One of the participants explained: "For a small start-up company like ours, this was an opportunity we would not have had without the Centre's support. Our participation proved to be very fruitful".
The Japanese visitors were curious about the technologies and services presented by the participants. Many expressed a general interest in how climate change is being tackled in Europe and how the policies being developed by the European Union might affect their businesses.
In addition to the trip to Japan, online activities such as a pitching webinar and online business meetings were organised on the EU-Japan Green Transition Business Matching Platform, which ran in parallel to the mission.
The Green Transition Business Matching Platform will continue to run until 25 March and registration is free for EU and Japanese organisations that match the target sectors listed on the following website.
Published: March 2024