What EC Sense does

EC Sense (イーシーセンス) is a business division of EC Frontier Co., Ltd. (株式会社イーシーフロンティア), a privately held Japanese company headquartered in Seika Town, Soraku District, Kyoto Prefecture. The division develops and commercializes electrochemical sensing devices for water-quality, food-safety, biomedical, and environmental monitoring applications, operating alongside the parent company rather than as an independent corporate entity. The product portfolio comprises two main lines: the CLEARTH series of portable residual chlorine meters (REC-100L, REC-200L, REC-200H), which use a proprietary coulometric measurement method to deliver reagent-free, calibration-free continuous chlorine monitoring at 5-second intervals; and the Humming Probe line of calibration-free pH meters (UX100) with disposable UH1 strip electrodes built on a patented hydrogen ion exchange film. A CS100 electrochemical cell stand is offered as a laboratory accessory. Devices communicate via USB, Bluetooth, RS-485 Modbus-RTU, and 4–20mA analog outputs, and the REC-200L/200H models add cellular IoT remote monitoring through NTT Docomo and SoftBank networks, supporting up to 148 distributed measurement points.

Name

EC Sense

Legal name

株式会社イーシーフロンティロ (EC FRONTIER CO., LTD.)

Website

https://ec-sense.co.jp

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

EC Sense, a division of Kyoto-based EC Frontier Co., Ltd., develops and sells electrochemical sensing devices — portable residual chlorine meters (CLEARTH) and calibration-free pH meters (Humming Probe UX100/UH1) — for enterprise customers in water management, food processing, biomedical research, and laboratory applications, primarily in Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electrochemical Sensing Instruments

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Measuring & Controlling Devices, Nec (3829)

akta.pro primary industry

Process Analytical Instrumentation (Gas analyzers, spectroscopy, pH/ORP, conductivity) (IMAGAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Sensors (Temperature/Humidity/Gas/Air Quality) (HDAHALAD), Online Monitoring, Sensors & Instrumentation (SCADA-integrated analyzers, probes, samplers) (EUANAJAC), Water Testing & Chemical Balancing (HSAIALAB), Sensors, MEMS & Imaging ICs (HDAHAAAG), Industrial-Grade Sensors & Transducer Components (Discrete sensing elements, transducers, MEMS sensors) (IMAGAJAO)

Keywords

• Electrochemical sensing devices
• Portable residual chlorine meters
• Calibration-free pH meters
• Disposable pH strip electrodes
• Water quality monitoring instruments

Headquarters

HQ city

Kyoto

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Portable residual chlorine meters (CLEARTH / クレアース): Sale of portable residual chlorine monitoring devices including REC-100L (low concentration, 0.05–5 ppm), REC-200L (low concentration, 0.01–3.00 mg/L), and REC-200H (high concentration, 1–250 mg/L). Devices are sold with cartridge electrodes/sensor packs and support accessories including USB connectivity, Bluetooth, analog output (4–20mA), RS-485 Modbus-RTU, and IoT remote monitoring modules.
2. Calibration-free pH meters and strip electrodes (Humming Probe UX100 / UH1): Sale of the calibration-free pH meter UX100 and disposable pH strip electrodes UH1. The UX100 is sold as a kit including 10 UH1 strip electrodes. Replacement UH1 electrodes are sold in vials of 25 strips (2 vials per box). Additional accessories include UXH10 extension cables.
3. Electrochemical accessories (CS100 Cell Stand): Sale of the CS100 electrochemical cell stand, a magnet stirrer designed for electrochemical experiments with stirring speed control, temperature control, and countdown timer functions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

EC Sense develops, manufactures, and sells electrochemical sensing devices under two product lines: (1) CLEARTH portable residual chlorine meters (REC-100L, REC-200L, REC-200H) using coulometric measurement for reagent-free continuous chlorine monitoring, and (2) Humming Probe calibration-free pH measurement systems (UX100 meter with UH1 disposable strip electrodes) using a patented hydrogen ion exchange film. Products target industrial water management, food processing, biomedical research, and laboratory applications.

Product overview

EC Sense offers two distinct product lines under the parent company EC Frontier: (1) CLEARTH portable residual chlorine meters (REC-100L, REC-200L, REC-200H) using coulometric electrochemical measurement for reagent-free continuous chlorine monitoring in water treatment, pools, food processing, and industrial applications; (2) Humming Probe electrochemical sensors (UX100 calibration-free pH meter with UH1 disposable strip electrodes) for pH measurement in biological, biomedical, agricultural, and food industry applications. The products share core electrochemical sensing technology with different measurement principles for chlorine vs. pH applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Clearth (クレアース): Portable residual chlorine meter product line. Includes models REC-100L, REC-200L, and REC-200H for measuring chlorine concentrations in water, pools, food processing, and other applications using coulometric measurement technology.

Products and services

• CLEARTH REC-100L Portable residual chlorine meter for low-concentration measurement (0.05-5 ppm) using a cartridge-type electrode with coulometric measurement method. Requires no reagent, supports continuous monitoring at 2-minute intervals, offers B5-size portability at approximately 1 kg, and communicates via Modbus-RTU over USB or RS-485. Targeted at water utilities, pools, food factories, and sanitation facilities.
• CLEARTH REC-200L Portable residual chlorine meter for low-concentration measurement (0.01-3.00 mg/L) at 5-second intervals. Features IoT remote monitoring via NTT Docomo and SoftBank cellular networks, USB Type-C power, Bluetooth smartphone connectivity, IP54 rating, and supports up to 148 measurement points. Targeted at distributed water monitoring and food processing facilities.
• CLEARTH REC-200H Portable residual chlorine meter for high-concentration measurement (1-250 mg/L) at 5-second intervals. Designed for food factory wash water, sterilization water concentration management, dairy sterilization water, and egg washing processes. Targeted at food processing and industrial sterilization operations.
• Humming Probe UX100 Calibration-free pH meter featuring a 4.3-inch color touchscreen, IP54 waterproof rating, built-in 5MP camera for data documentation, and algorithm-based automatic endpoint detection. Supports both strip port mode and cable socket mode for pH measurement with 0.01 pH resolution and ±0.1 pH accuracy. Targeted at biomedical, laboratory, agricultural, and field inspection users.
• Humming Probe UH1 pH Strip Electrodes Disposable pH strip electrode with patented hydrogen ion exchange film design. Requires only 10-20 µL sample volume, achieves ±0.1 pH accuracy, operates in pH 0-14 range, and includes a built-in temperature detection element for automatic temperature compensation. Sold in vials of 25 electrodes (2 vials per box) as consumables for the UX100 meter.
• CS100 Electrochemical Cell Stand Magnetic stirrer designed for electrochemical experiments with stirring speed control (500-1500 rpm ±5%), temperature control (+20 to +40°C ±2°C), and countdown timer. Includes custom-designed holder for 3-electrode system measurements and printing electrode mounting. Max capacity 100 mL, weighs 500 g, powered by 5V/2A AC adapter. Targeted at research laboratories.

Quantifiable outcome

• pH measurement accuracy of ±0.1 pH with correlation coefficient r = 0.9999 vs. NIST standard pH buffers
• +3 more outcomes

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 capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NTT Docomo (NTT大臣)coreTechnology or IntegrationNTT Docomo provides cellular IoT connectivity for EC Sense's CLEARTH remote monitoring system. The system supports NTT Docomo network, enabling remote monitoring of up to 148 measurement points with automatic base station selection for reliable connectivity.
• SoftBank (ソフトバンク)coreTechnology or IntegrationSoftBank provides cellular IoT connectivity for EC Sense's CLEARTH remote monitoring system. The system supports SoftBank network alongside NTT Docomo, automatically selecting the base station with better connectivity.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Bante Instruments: Chinese manufacturer of portable pH, ORP, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen instruments targeting industrial and educational water-quality applications at price points below legacy incumbents. Partial overlap with EC Sense on portable water-quality electrochemical sensing.
• Apera Instruments: Chinese challenger brand offering budget portable pH meters (AI311, PH60S) and conductivity meters aimed at food, agriculture, and water-treatment segments. Emerging peer to EC Sense's Humming Probe line in portable/calibration-light pH measurement.

Direct peers

• YSI (Xylem): Manufacturer of Pro20/Pro30 handheld water quality instruments and IQ SensorNet online sensors for chlorine, pH, and conductivity. Targets municipal drinking water, wastewater, and aquaculture — overlapping use cases with EC Sense's CLEARTH system.
• Hanna Instruments: Manufactures portable residual chlorine colorimeters (HI967XX series) and a full range of portable pH meters (edge, HI98190 series) targeting water utilities, pools, food processing, and laboratories. Closest direct comp to EC Sense's CLEARTH chlorine meters and Humming Probe pH meter in product, form factor, and target buyers.
• HORIBA Advanced Techno: Japanese-headquartered maker of LAQUA series portable pH/ORP/conductivity meters and water quality instruments with strong domestic Japan presence. Competes directly in the same geographic market as EC Sense with overlapping pH and water-quality product lines.
• Hach (Veralto): Global leader in water quality analysis with portable chlorine colorimeters (DR300 Pocket, CL17sc) and HQd series portable pH/conductivity meters. Competes head-to-head with EC Sense in municipal water utility and food safety chlorine monitoring, with far greater distribution scale.
• Palintest: UK-based specialist in pool, spa, and drinking water chlorine testing including the ChloroSense and Pooltest 6 product ranges. Closely comparable to EC Sense on portable residual chlorine measurement methodology and pool water target segment.

Broad incumbents

• Mettler Toledo: Global laboratory and industrial instruments leader offering SevenGo and SevenCompact portable pH meters and InLab electrodes across pharmaceutical, food, and academic segments. Larger incumbent with broadly overlapping pH-measurement portfolio.
• WTW (Xylem Analytics): Makes inoLab and Multi-series portable/benchtop pH and chlorine meters with strong European municipal water utility presence. Larger water-analytics incumbent with overlapping chlorine and pH measurement products integrated into broader process and lab portfolios.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Orion): Sells Orion Star A series portable pH meters, ROSS pH electrodes, and AQUAfast chlorine reagents under a broad life-sciences instrumentation portfolio. Larger incumbent offering overlapping portable pH/chlorine capability as part of a much wider scientific instrument range.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 EC Sense