INSTITUTION PROFILE / MATERIALS INFORMATICS
NIMS (National Institute for Materials Science)
Japan's hub for materials data and research
NIMS is a Japanese national research and development agency in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, and a research institute for materials science. In materials informatics (MI, which means using AI and data to speed up materials development), it stands out because it runs materials databases and acts as a place where data is gathered. It is not a government office that sets policy or hands out subsidies. This profile looks at one question: how far NIMS's influence over MI reaches, and what it cannot decide.
- NIMS in 30 seconds
- What kind of body it is: the four types of influence
- What it does for MI
- How far its influence reaches (powers and geography)
- Who is involved and how the money flows
- Outlook
- Glossary, references and claim-to-source audit
1. NIMS in 30 seconds
NIMS is the body that gathers materials data and makes it available; it is not the one that sets rules or budgets. It runs materials databases such as the polymer database PoLyInfo, and as of 30 September 2026 PoLyInfo's public data alone covers about 358,000 data points from about 15,000 references Sourced. Within the national plan, NIMS is the core data site of the "Materials DX Platform", a system for collecting and using materials data across Japan, and in MEXT's programmes it serves as the central hub that gathers data from advanced shared facilities nationwide Sourced. But this system is a national effort, and NIMS plays the core role in it. NIMS does not decide MI policy or subsidies, and it receives its own operating funds from the state.
2. What kind of body it is: the four types of influence
Unlike the companies in this series, the institutions that appear in MI coverage do not sell materials or products (NIMS does research on materials, but it is not a manufacturer). What separates them is the route by which they influence the field, and that gives four types. NIMS belongs to the "convening" type, as a hub for research and data.
How NIMS's own data platforms are used and how far they are open is something NIMS can decide. But whether they become an official standard for the whole of Japan is not for NIMS to decide. NIMS's annual plan itself says that the range of sharing will be set according to the nature of each type of data, so openness differs from dataset to dataset Sourced.
3. What it does for MI
The MI-related activities of NIMS that we could confirm from published documents are the following Sourced.
| Activity | Scale and date | Content | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polymer database PoLyInfo (part of MatNavi) | As of 30 September 2026 16,064 homopolymers, 5,638 copolymers, 1,978 blends, 2,153 composites. 357,812 data points, 15,365 references | A database of what polymer design needs: properties, chemical structures, processing methods and measurement conditions, collected mainly from academic papers. The figures are for public data that can be searched and viewed. Datasets that include unpublished data are sold for a fee | Sourced |
| The DICE family of data services (MatNavi, MDR, RDE, pinax, M-DaC, MInt and others) | MatNavi offers a dozen or so databases. Registration and an application are required. It is free of charge (the inorganic-materials database AtomWork-Adv is paid) | MDR is a repository for publishing materials papers and data. RDE collects experimental data automatically from instruments and structures it. pinax supports building prediction models. Bulk downloading and web scraping are prohibited | Sourced |
| Role in gathering data nationwide | The FY2026 annual plan says a full-scale service to collect and use data in cooperation with the nationwide system of shared advanced facilities will begin in FY2026 | NIMS is the central hub of MEXT's Advanced Research Infrastructure for Materials and Nanotechnology (ARIM) and the core organisation of the data-linkage subcommittee of MEXT's R&D project on creating and using materials data. The plan also includes managing and providing a standard way of describing data | A plan Not yet confirmed |
| Research on materials search with AI and automated experiments | Results announced in November and December 2025 | An "autonomous materials search" that automatically makes and measures thin films whose composition changes continuously, with AI (Bayesian optimisation) choosing the next conditions, found a magnetic material with a giant anomalous Hall effect. It runs on NIMO, open-source software led by NIMS. A technique for linking several autonomous AI systems was also shown to work in simulation | Sourced (the second is a simulation, not an experiment) |
PoLyInfo's main data source is academic papers on polymers Sourced. That means values measured by different labs under different conditions are mixed together. About 360,000 data points are valuable as training data for machine learning, but they are not uniform data measured on the same instruments under the same conditions. When you use MI on your own material, treat public data as a starting point and check it against data measured under your own conditions. For how to think about data quality and quantity, see our explainers on materials databases and the FAIR principles, and on small-data machine learning.
4. How far its influence reaches (powers and geography)
| Aspect | What NIMS has | What NIMS does not have |
|---|---|---|
| Powers | The power to set how its own data platforms are used (registration, terms of use, download limits, paid datasets). The power to choose its own research themes within its medium- to long-term plan | The power to set MI policy or subsidies (that sits with MEXT, the Cabinet Office, METI and others). The power to set official specifications or standards. The power to require other institutions to use a data format |
| Geography | Users are mainly researchers and companies in Japan. It also works with overseas universities | We could not confirm foreign user numbers, or any influence on other countries' policies, from published documents |
| Funding | It receives an operating grant from the state (¥16.89 billion in FY2025) and commissioned-work income from MEXT, independent administrative agencies and others (¥9.67 billion in FY2025) | The power to give research money to other bodies (NIMS is on the receiving side) |
| Size | 1,045 permanent staff (31 March 2026). Income of ¥34.68 billion in FY2025 | We could not confirm how many staff or how much budget goes to MI alone |
The "about 358,000 data points" in this article is the number in PoLyInfo's public data, not the amount of all NIMS data. The "¥34.68 billion" is NIMS's total income for all research, MI and non-MI alike, so it is not an MI budget. Also, the corporate profile on NIMS's website has a field for the number of officers and staff, but when we checked on 22 October 2026 it showed no number. We therefore use the permanent staff figure from the FY2025 business report Sourced.
5. Who is involved and how the money flows
NIMS's research draws on national research-funding schemes. For example, the November 2025 result was produced as part of the Japan Science and Technology Agency's (JST) strategic basic research programmes (CREST, PRESTO and ERATO) Sourced. In NEDO's project on MI for fuel cell and water electrolysis materials, NIMS is one of the performing organisations, together with Hokkaido University and others Sourced.
On the corporate side, NIMS signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with IBM (IBM Japan) on 1 July 2026. It covers AI such as foundation models and large language models, possible uses of quantum computing, and data integration and research infrastructure. Specific projects are still at the stage of being designed Sourced Not yet confirmed.
6. Outlook
| What can be read | Primary source behind it | Category |
|---|---|---|
| In FY2026 NIMS plans to start a full-scale service that collects data from shared advanced facilities nationwide | The FY2026 annual plan (March 2026) | Not yet confirmed |
| The Cabinet Office's expert meeting recommends strengthening the hub functions of NIMS and AIST and creating an AI-driven materials development hub. Whether this happens is open | Recommendations on promoting the Materials Innovation Strategy (12 June 2026). The work plan is described as prepared as a proposal to the ministries and agencies concerned | Not yet confirmed |
| Whether the cooperation with IBM turns into specific joint projects has not been decided | The NIMS and IBM press release (1 July 2026). The MOU is meant for future discussion | Not yet confirmed |
| Whether NIMS's way of describing data spreads as a de facto common format will depend on how many institutions take part and on national policy design | The annual plan says NIMS will run RDE for data reuse at universities and public institutes nationwide and manage and provide a standard way of describing data. NIMS's documents do not say whether it would be an official standard | Inference |
7. Glossary
- Designated national R&D agency
- A national R&D agency covered by a special law aimed at world-leading results. NIMS moved to this status in October 2016.
- Materials DX Platform
- A system for collecting and using materials research data across Japan. NIMS provides its core data site.
- DICE
- The name of NIMS's family of materials data services, including MatNavi, MDR and RDE.
- MatNavi / PoLyInfo
- NIMS's group of materials databases, and the polymer database within it.
- MDR
- NIMS's repository (a place to store and publish data) for materials research data and papers.
- ARIM
- Advanced Research Infrastructure for Materials and Nanotechnology: a MEXT programme that organises shared use of advanced instruments at universities and institutes nationwide. NIMS serves as its central hub.
8. References
- NIMS Corporate profile and NIMS vision (organisation name, English name, sites, research centres; updated 6 August 2026) (in Japanese). https://www.nims.go.jp/nims/profile.html
- NIMS History (launch in 2001; national R&D agency from April 2015; designated national R&D agency from October 2016) (in Japanese). https://www.nims.go.jp/nims/history.html
- MEXT Goals for operations to be achieved by NIMS (medium- to long-term goals), 27 February 2023, amended 27 February 2025; period April 2023 to March 2030 (in Japanese). https://www.nims.go.jp/nims/disclosure/hdfqf100000016uy-att/NIMSmed-longterma5mokuhyo.pdf
- NIMS FY2026 annual plan (March 2026): data core site, central hub, data-linkage subcommittee, range of sharing, MOP (in Japanese). https://www.nims.go.jp/nims/disclosure/hdfqf100000016uy-att/nendokeikakuR8.pdf
- NIMS FY2025 business report (permanent staff; income as settled, and its breakdown) (in Japanese). https://www.nims.go.jp/nims/disclosure/hdfqf100000016uy-att/hdfqf1000000172d.pdf
- NIMS Polymer Database (PoLyInfo): public data counts as of 30 September 2026, data sources and terms of use. https://polymer.nims.go.jp/en/
- NIMS DICE, the digital ecosystem for materials research: introduction to the services (in Japanese). https://dice.nims.go.jp/
- NIMS NIMS Materials Database (MatNavi): how to apply, and the ban on bulk downloading and web scraping (in Japanese). https://mits.nims.go.jp/
- NIMS MDR: NIMS Materials Data Repository, About. https://mdr.nims.go.jp/page/about
- NIMS and IBM Japan Press release: NIMS and IBM agree to cooperate on building a next-generation materials research platform using generative AI (1 July 2026) (in Japanese). https://www.nims.go.jp/press/2026/07/202607010.html
- NIMS Press release: AI-based autonomous materials search system for composition-spread thin films (20 November 2025; part of JST CREST, PRESTO and ERATO programmes) (in Japanese). https://www.nims.go.jp/press/2025/11/202511200.html
- NIMS, University of Tsukuba and JST Press release: several autonomous AI systems cooperating spontaneously to advance materials research (10 December 2025) (in Japanese). https://www.nims.go.jp/press/2025/12/202512100.html
- Cabinet Office, Experts Meeting on Materials Strategy Recommendations on measures to promote the Materials Innovation Strategy (12 June 2026) (in Japanese). https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/material/material_2026_suishin.pdf
- NEDO NEDO Energy and Global Environment Results Conference 2026, presentation a-05 (performing organisations including NIMS; 22 July 2026) (in Japanese). https://www.nedo.go.jp/content/800068477.pdf
9. Claim-to-source audit
| Claim in the article | Category | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Full name, English name, sites in Tsukuba | Sourced | Reference 1 https://www.nims.go.jp/nims/profile.html |
| Launch in 2001; national R&D agency status from April 2015; designated status from October 2016 | Sourced | Reference 2 https://www.nims.go.jp/nims/history.html |
| MEXT sets the medium- to long-term goals, their period, the data core site role, and MatNavi's description as one of the world's largest materials databases | Sourced | Reference 3 https://www.nims.go.jp/nims/disclosure/hdfqf100000016uy-att/NIMSmed-longterma5mokuhyo.pdf |
| Central hub, core organisation of the data-linkage subcommittee, range of sharing, managing a standard way of describing data, the full-scale service planned for FY2026, MOP | Sourced (the FY2026 service is a plan) | Reference 4 https://www.nims.go.jp/nims/disclosure/hdfqf100000016uy-att/nendokeikakuR8.pdf |
| 1,045 permanent staff (end of FY2025); income of 34,683 million yen; operating grant of 16,886 million yen; commissioned-work income of 9,665 million yen | Sourced | Reference 5 https://www.nims.go.jp/nims/disclosure/hdfqf100000016uy-att/hdfqf1000000172d.pdf |
| PoLyInfo public data counts (30 September 2026), main data source, paid datasets | Sourced | Reference 6 https://polymer.nims.go.jp/en/ |
| The DICE services (MatNavi, AtomWork-Adv, RDE, pinax, MDR, M-DaC, MInt) and MatNavi's dozen or so databases | Sourced | Reference 7 https://dice.nims.go.jp/ |
| MatNavi's application procedure and the ban on bulk downloading and web scraping | Sourced | Reference 8 https://mits.nims.go.jp/ |
| What MDR is | Sourced | Reference 9 https://mdr.nims.go.jp/page/about |
| The MOU with IBM (1 July 2026), its scope, and that specific projects are at the design stage | Sourced | Reference 10 https://www.nims.go.jp/press/2026/07/202607010.html |
| Autonomous search for composition-spread thin films (NIMO) and the JST programmes behind it | Sourced | Reference 11 https://www.nims.go.jp/press/2025/11/202511200.html |
| The autonomous AI network technique (shown in simulation) | Sourced | Reference 12 https://www.nims.go.jp/press/2025/12/202512100.html |
| The 12 June 2026 recommendation to strengthen NIMS and AIST hub functions, and that the work plan is a proposal | Sourced (a proposal) | Reference 13 https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/material/material_2026_suishin.pdf |
| NIMS is a performing organisation in a NEDO project | Sourced | Reference 14 https://www.nedo.go.jp/content/800068477.pdf |
| The four types of institution, and the arrangement in Fig. 2 | Our calculation | Our own classification |
| Explanations of terms such as designated national R&D agency, DICE and MDR, and the caution about paper-derived data | Sourced | This article's general explanation (based on references 1 to 9) |
| Staff and budget for MI alone, user numbers abroad, and the officer and staff count (the website field is blank) | Not yet confirmed | Not stated in references 1 to 14; this article does not estimate them |
| The FY2026 full-scale service, the recommendations being realised, and specific projects with IBM | Not yet confirmed | References 4, 10 and 13 describe a plan, a proposal and an MOU; this article does not forecast their outcome |
| The one inference in the outlook (section 6): whether NIMS's way of describing data spreads as a de facto common format | Inference | This article's reading of reference 4 |
Last updated 22 October 2026 / Troy Technical
Figures come from NIMS's website, plans, reports and press releases, MEXT's medium- to long-term goals and the Cabinet Office's recommendations. Items marked "Inference" are this article's reading of the primary information, not statements by NIMS.