Granular Energy and MRI join forces to bring hourly clean-power matching to Japan

Granular Energy SAS and Mitsubishi Research Institute have agreed to work together to promote hourly matching in Japan, a method of matching electricity consumption with clean power on an hour-by-hour basis and one that is drawing increasing attention as companies come under pressure to make renewable-energy claims more transparent.

The memorandum of understanding, announced on 8 October, is aimed at helping businesses and power-sector participants strengthen the traceability o...

f non-fossil electricity procurement, particularly as demand grows among companies seeking to align with voluntary frameworks such as RE100 and SBTi. The move also comes as revisions to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s Scope 2 guidance are being discussed, raising expectations that electricity-accounting rules will become more granular and more exacting.

Under the partnership, Granular Energy will provide the platform and certificate-management tools needed to support EnergyTag-accredited renewable-energy tracking, while MRI will draw on its domestic expertise in Japan’s electricity market and regulatory system to advise companies considering adoption. The two firms say they will first help customers define use cases, identify required functions and compare systems before moving to proof-of-concept work based on actual generation, consumption and certificate data. If those tests prove successful, Granular Energy will then support full deployment, integration with existing systems and ongoing operation.

Granular Energy said the collaboration is intended not only for corporate buyers, but also for utilities, aggregators and retail electricity providers that want to offer more transparent renewable-energy procurement and management services. The company, founded in 2021 and based in Paris, already supplies renewable-energy portfolio management software to electricity companies in more than 10 countries.

MRI, for its part, brings consulting and advisory experience across the energy sector, including work with retail electricity suppliers and other market participants. By combining that local knowledge with Granular Energy’s software, the partners say they want to make it easier for organisations to understand, demonstrate and document how renewable electricity is being used, and to help build a market in which the environmental value of clean power can be properly assessed.

EnergyTag, the non-profit body behind the hourly-tracking standard, says time-stamped certificates can link clean generation and consumption within the same hour, supporting more detailed carbon accounting and encouraging investment in clean generation, storage and flexibility. The group does not itself sell certificates or provide software, instead relying on registries and accredited partners. That distinction makes the Granular Energy-MRI tie-up notable, because it combines a standards-based tracking framework with local market access and implementation support.

The deal also fits into a wider push by companies and utilities to go beyond annual renewable-energy matching and towards systems that can show when clean power is actually being used. JERA disclosed an investment in Granular Energy in 2024 and has been piloting the company’s hourly renewable-energy data-management system, underscoring growing interest in the model within Japan’s energy sector.

By joining forces, Granular Energy and MRI are betting that hourly matching will move from a specialist concept to a more widely adopted tool in Japan’s decarbonisation efforts. They argue that better visibility over when renewable power is generated and consumed will help companies sharpen sustainability strategies, while also supporting a more credible and transparent market for renewable electricity.

Source: Noah Wire Services