What Atomis does

Atomis Inc. (株式会社Atomis) is a Japanese cleantech company founded on February 10, 2015 as a Kyoto University spinoff from the PCP/MOF (Porous Coordination Polymer / Metal-Organic Framework) research of Prof. Susumu Kitagawa. Headquartered in Kobe, Hyogo, with 38 employees as of June 2026, the company operates two business lines: a Materials Business that manufactures and sells next-generation porous materials (PCP/MOFs, COFs, POPs, zeolites) and provides R&D services (gas adsorption evaluation, contract synthesis, joint development), and an Impacts Business that uses those materials to build hardware and systems, principally the CubiTan® compact, lightweight, IoT-enabled high-pressure gas container for smart gas distribution, and a Distributed Carbon Capture Utilization (DCCU) system that captures CO₂ from air and converts it in one pot into formic acid or methanol.

The technology platform rests on three pillars: (1) the proprietary POROS™ database covering more than 100,000 species of crystalline porous materials with structural, stability, and cost data, used with Matlantis and GCMC simulations for material informatics and design; (2) a proprietary, non-solvothermal industrial-scale manufacturing process that operates under mild conditions, with a 20 t/Y explosion-proof pilot plant on Kobe's Port Island that began commercial supply in 2023; and (3) integrated IoT-enabled hardware and software for downstream applications. The company's commercial model is direct enterprise sales through a five-step Discussion → Feasibility Study → Proof of Concept → Demonstration → Commercialization flow, supplemented by strategic alliances with Daikin, Yachiyo Engineering, Kobelco, Nagase, and Sekisui House, and government partnerships in Thailand (ENTEC/NSTDA) and Indonesia (BRIN) for ASEAN rollout of the CubiTan® smart gas network. Pricing is quote-based, multi-year, and not publicly disclosed, with revenue streams spanning material sales, R&D and evaluation services, hardware and gas-network deployment, joint-development engagements, and future licensing/royalties from DCCU.

Name

Atomis

Legal name

株式会社Atomis (Atomis Inc.)

Website

https://atomis.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Atomis is a Kobe-based Japanese cleantech company that designs, manufactures, and commercializes porous coordination polymer (PCP/MOF) materials, supplying industrial customers with samples, contract synthesis, and R&D services, and deploying them in the CubiTan® IoT-enabled gas container and distributed CO₂ capture systems for ASEAN gas and energy markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advanced Porous Materials & Gas Distribution Systems

NAICS

Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713), Industrial Gas Manufacturing (32512)

SIC

Industrial Inorganic Chemicals (2810)

akta.pro primary industry

Post-combustion Capture Systems (Solid Sorbents & Structured Adsorbents) (EUABAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Process Gases & Gas Delivery Consumables (Specialty/Bulk/UHP) (HDAHAGAL)

Keywords

• Porous coordination polymers
• Metal-organic frameworks
• High-pressure gas cylinders
• Smart gas networks
• Distributed gas utilization

Headquarters

HQ city

Hyogo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. PCP/MOF Material Sales (Materials Business): One-time and recurring sales of next-generation porous materials (PCP/MOFs) and related compounds manufactured in-house. Includes supply of small sample quantities for evaluation through to larger quantities for device/system demonstration.
2. R&D and Evaluation Services: Contract services including gas adsorption/desorption evaluations, industrial-scale contract synthesis of PCP/MOFs, feasibility studies, and joint development engagements with customers. Five-step engagement model (Discussion → Feasibility Study → Proof of Concept → Demonstration → Commercialization).
3. CubiTan® Hardware and Smart Gas Network Deployment: Sale of next-generation high-pressure gas containers and associated IoT-enabled smart gas distribution services. Includes subscription-style service and route-optimization logistics services for gas utilities and distributors, particularly in ASEAN markets (Indonesia, Thailand).
4. Joint Development and Co-Creation Revenue: Revenue from joint development and co-development agreements with strategic partners across industries (e.g., Daikin, Yachiyo Engineering, Kobelco, Nagase, Sekisui House, Kubota).
5. Distributed Carbon Capture/Utilization System Sales (Future): Future revenue stream from carbon recycling systems that capture CO₂ from air and convert it in one pot into formic acid/methanol using PCP/MOF-based catalysts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Atomis manufactures next-generation porous materials (PCP/MOFs) and develops CubiTan®—a compact, lightweight, IoT-enabled high-pressure gas container—alongside the Distributed Gas Resources Utilization (DGRU) smart gas network system. The company leverages a proprietary structural database (POROS™) containing more than 100,000 species of porous materials to design, synthesize, and supply crystalline porous materials (PCP/MOFs, COFs, POPs, zeolites) for gas storage, separation, ion transport, and catalysis applications. It also provides contract R&D services including feasibility studies, proof-of-concept synthesis, and joint development with industrial customers.

Product overview

Atomis operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on PCP/MOF (Porous Coordination Polymer / Metal-Organic Framework) technology spun out of Kyoto University. The core offering is the manufacturing and sale of PCP/MOF materials supported by the proprietary POROS™ computational design database, which together drive both the Materials Business (contract synthesis, evaluation, joint development R&D services) and the Impacts Business (services and systems rather than materials). Within the Impacts Business, the hardware flagship is CubiTan®—a compact, lightweight, IoT-enabled next-generation high-pressure gas container with built-in PCP/MOF adsorbent—which underpins the Distributed Gas Resources Utilization (DGRU) smart gas network service and ASEAN expansion. A second Impacts Business line is Distributed Carbon Capture Utilization (DCCU), a distributed carbon recycling system that combines direct air capture with one-pot conversion of CO₂ into formic acid/methanol via PCP/MOF-based catalysts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CubiTan®: Next-generation high-pressure gas container characterized by compactness, light weight (reinforced plastic), cube-shaped stackable design, and smart (IoT) features; incorporates PCP/MOF as a gas adsorbent to enable high-density storage without elevated pressure. Used for the smart gas network distribution platform.
• POROS™

Products and services

• PCP/MOF Porous Materials
• CubiTan® High-Pressure Gas Container
• POROS™ Structural Database
• R&D and Contract Synthesis Services
• Distributed Gas Resources Utilization (DGRU) System

Quantifiable outcome

• Demonstrated CO₂ capture at 30 kg per day using MOFs in partnership with Kobelco and Nagase & Co.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd.flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2026Tripartite MOU with Yachiyo Engineering and Thailand's National Energy Technology Center (ENTEC) signed April 23, 2026 at Thailand Science Park. Builds on prior business alliance (April 2023) and MOU (October 2023) to jointly develop smart gas network utilizing CubiTan® in ASEAN (Thailand and Indonesia). Yachiyo Engineering also invested in Atomis. Yachiyo's representative Yosuke Nakagawa serves as Outside Corporate Auditor.
• National Energy Technology Center (ENTEC), ThailandflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2026Three-party MOU with ENTEC (under Thailand's National Science and Technology Development Agency, NSTDA) and Yachiyo Engineering signed April 23, 2026 to apply PCP/MOF gas storage and CO₂ capture technology to Thailand's and ASEAN energy demand. Targets Thailand's underdeveloped urban gas network and high LPG dependency in households.
• National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2023MOU signed October 2023 between Atomis, BRIN, and Yachiyo Engineering to advance CubiTan® smart gas network deployment in Indonesia. BRIN delegation visited Atomis in September 2024; Atomis made a courtesy visit to the Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia in March 2024.
• DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD.flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 January 2023Capital and Business Alliance established January 2023. Daikin's co-creation with Atomis is featured on its corporate website (November 2023). Listed as a partner on Atomis's website.
• JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 December 2022Collaboration with JAXA on development of low-pressure tanks for small satellites using CubiTan®/PCP/MOF technology.
• Nagase & Co., Ltd.flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 December 2021Series B investor (December 2021) and joint-development partner. Jointly demonstrated CO₂ capture equipment with MOFs at 30 kg/day scale with Kobelco (April 2026), featured in The Chemical Daily (October 2025). Listed as partner on Atomis website.
• Sekisui House, Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner on Atomis website.
• MITSUI KINZOKU COMPANY, LIMITEDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner on Atomis website. The Mitsui Kinzoku-SBI Material Innovation Fund (jointly established by Mitsui Mining & Smelting/Mitsui Kinzoku and SBI Investment) led Atomis's Series A and participated in Series B.
• Susumu Kitagawa (Kyoto University iCeMS / Institute for Advanced Study)flagshipOthersScientific Advisor and 2025 Nobel laureate in Chemistry; Atomis is founded on his PCP/MOF research. Distinguished Professor and Director at iCeMS, Kyoto University. Atomis also appointed Kenji Sumida as Scientific Advisor (July 2024).

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• BASF SE: BASF has active MOF/porous material R&D (notably through its BASF 4.0 partnerships) and is a much larger incumbent in the chemicals/materials space. Atomis partners with several Japanese chemical majors, but BASF represents the scale of incumbent competition in porous materials.
• Climeworks: Climeworks is the global DAC leader with multi-thousand-ton commercial plants. While it does not use MOFs as its core sorbent, it is the dominant competitor in the DAC market that Atomis's DCCU ultimately targets, including in Japan and ASEAN.
• Linde / Air Liquide: Linde and Air Liquide are global industrial gas giants whose gas distribution infrastructure and customer relationships are precisely what CubiTan® aims to disrupt in emerging markets. They are the benchmark for the addressable market and likely future partners or competitors for Atomis's Impacts Business.

Direct peers

• NovoMOF: NovoMOF is a Swiss/German MOF specialist focused on industrial-scale MOF production for CO2 capture, gas storage, and separation — overlapping directly with Atomis's materials and DAC applications. Both pursue industrial customers and computational MOF design.
• Mosaic Materials: Mosaic Materials (acquired by Baker Hughes) developed MOF-based direct air capture technology and overlaps directly with Atomis's DCCU/DAC ambitions. It serves as the closest historical reference for MOF-DAC commercialization trajectories.
• NuMat Technologies: NuMat (ION-X) is one of the most direct comparables — a pioneer in industrial-scale MOF/porous material production for gas storage and separation. Both companies target industrial gas storage, separation, and computational MOF design, making NuMat the closest peer for Atomis's Materials Business.
• Framergy: Framergy is a US-based MOF/porous materials company commercializing MOFs for gas storage, separation, and catalysis. It is a direct peer in the porous materials market with a similar customer base of industrial chemicals and energy companies.

Emerging players

• Atoco: Founded by Prof. Omar Yaghi (2025 Nobel co-laureate), Atoco commercializes MOF technology for carbon capture and water harvesting. It is a direct emerging competitor in the MOF-based carbon capture and gas storage space where Atomis also plays.

Regional players

• Toyobo Co., Ltd. Toyobo is a Japanese specialty chemicals/materials company with deep R&D capability in functional materials and gas separation. It is a regional peer and potential partner/competitor in Japan's advanced materials ecosystem.
• Resonac Holdings (formerly Showa Denko): Resonac is a Japanese specialty chemicals and advanced materials company that is also a J-Startup ecosystem partner. It is a regional peer in advanced porous/functional materials with overlapping decarbonization R&D and customer segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/gas_cubitan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Atomis