Following the two oil crises of the 1970s, the need for energy diversification increased. Against this backdrop, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) was established as a semi-governmental organization in 1980 to promote the development and introduction of new energy technologies. Research and development of industrial technology was later added, and today NEDO is active in a wide variety of areas as one of the largest public research and development management organizations in Japan.