72
I now introduce an interesting corporate strategy for commodities. The Dow
Chemical Company, a huge petrochemical company, has been successful in the
commodities field. The outline of its strategy is as follows:
1. Keep the top share, or continue securing the share within the top three;
2. Maintain superiority, even if differences with other companies in terms of quality and manufacturing cost are actually small;
3. To achieve the above, continue investing no matter how bad the economic environment is;
4. On top of that, it is important to make a society that is not afraid of failure.
In this way, Dow started to dominate the commodity field. In the past, both solar
cells and storage batteries may have been classified as high-performance products,
but in the future, they will be commodities. Technological development is indispensable, but a management strategy like that of Dow is also essential. We expect
that some Japanese companies will succeed in this field. Furthermore, We hope that
new technologies to enhance energy efficiency of new product and to reduce manufacturing costs of them beyond what we forecast in this book will emerge.
4.1.6 Dissemination of Hydropower Generation by Region
Although Japan is said to be a country with limited resources, water resources are
abundant enough to allow self-sufficiency. Hydropower is renewable energy that
does not use fossil fuels, but it is difficult to build any new hydropower facility that
is currently accompanied by large-scale development that is typical in Japan.
However, small hydropower generation has considerable potential for development. Even hydropower plants with an output of 10,000 kW or less are estimated to
have a potential of about 10 million kW in the whole country. This is equivalent to
about 4% of the total electricity generation capacity of 243.6 million kW (2010) of
the general electric utilities, about 80% of the amount of power generated by large
scale hydroelectric power plants, or 10 nuclear power plants.
Small hydropower plants have a propeller installed where there is a difference in
water level and generate electricity using the thrust generated by the propeller.
Places in which electricity can be generated include water supply and drainage
pipes, rivers, and agricultural canals where water flows beyond a certain flow rate.
Small hydropower generation has not become thoroughly widespread because of
the high cost, even though the potential has been pointed out in the past. The ability
to generate power in various places is an advantage of small hydropower generation,
but it is also a disadvantage at the same time. Since conditions such as water flow
rate, flow path, and the surrounding environment change according to the location,
it is necessary to amend the dimensions of the propeller to suit each case. It would
not be profitable if you were to build various types of equipment for a hydropower
plant that generates about 10 kW. Conversely, it could be profitable to position a
general-purpose propeller in a place where the installation environment is similar.
4 Technology to Support Low-Carbon Society (Utilizing Energy)
I now introduce an interesting corporate strategy for commodities. The Dow
Chemical Company, a huge petrochemical company, has been successful in the
commodities field. The outline of its strategy is as follows:
1. Keep the top share, or continue securing the share within the top three;
2. Maintain superiority, even if differences with other companies in terms of quality and manufacturing cost are actually small;
3. To achieve the above, continue investing no matter how bad the economic environment is;
4. On top of that, it is important to make a society that is not afraid of failure.
In this way, Dow started to dominate the commodity field. In the past, both solar
cells and storage batteries may have been classified as high-performance products,
but in the future, they will be commodities. Technological development is indispensable, but a management strategy like that of Dow is also essential. We expect
that some Japanese companies will succeed in this field. Furthermore, We hope that
new technologies to enhance energy efficiency of new product and to reduce manufacturing costs of them beyond what we forecast in this book will emerge.
4.1.6 Dissemination of Hydropower Generation by Region
Although Japan is said to be a country with limited resources, water resources are
abundant enough to allow self-sufficiency. Hydropower is renewable energy that
does not use fossil fuels, but it is difficult to build any new hydropower facility that
is currently accompanied by large-scale development that is typical in Japan.
However, small hydropower generation has considerable potential for development. Even hydropower plants with an output of 10,000 kW or less are estimated to
have a potential of about 10 million kW in the whole country. This is equivalent to
about 4% of the total electricity generation capacity of 243.6 million kW (2010) of
the general electric utilities, about 80% of the amount of power generated by large
scale hydroelectric power plants, or 10 nuclear power plants.
Small hydropower plants have a propeller installed where there is a difference in
water level and generate electricity using the thrust generated by the propeller.
Places in which electricity can be generated include water supply and drainage
pipes, rivers, and agricultural canals where water flows beyond a certain flow rate.
Small hydropower generation has not become thoroughly widespread because of
the high cost, even though the potential has been pointed out in the past. The ability
to generate power in various places is an advantage of small hydropower generation,
but it is also a disadvantage at the same time. Since conditions such as water flow
rate, flow path, and the surrounding environment change according to the location,
it is necessary to amend the dimensions of the propeller to suit each case. It would
not be profitable if you were to build various types of equipment for a hydropower
plant that generates about 10 kW. Conversely, it could be profitable to position a
general-purpose propeller in a place where the installation environment is similar.
4 Technology to Support Low-Carbon Society (Utilizing Energy)