NanoTerasu

What NanoTerasu does

NanoTerasu is a 3 GeV high-brightness synchrotron radiation facility located at Tohoku University's Aobayama New Campus in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. The facility generates ultra-bright X-rays through a tungsten electron gun operating at approximately 1000°C emitting ~10 billion electrons per second, which are compressed via a buncher system and accelerated through a linear accelerator into the storage ring. Multiple public shared-use beamlines (共用ビームライン) feed into end-stations supporting materials science, physics, chemistry, biology, and nanoscale structural analysis. Operations run on a continuous three-shift daily schedule (10:00–18:00, 18:00–02:00, 02:00–10:00), with planned operating periods extending through 2027 and a published FY2026 schedule.

The facility is jointly managed by three Japanese research organizations under a formal agreement: the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST / 国立研究開発法人量子科学技術研究開発機構), which houses the NanoTerasu Secretariat and Director General; the Photon Science Innovation Center (PhoSIC / 一般財団法人光科学イノベーションセンター), which operates the coalition system (コアリション制度) and co-owns the NanoTerasu trademark; and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI / 公益財団法人高輝度光科学研究センター), which runs the NanoTerasu Research Center and the user.nanoterasu.jp portal. User access is granted through a shared-use application system with peer-style review and scheduled beamtime allocation, targeting academic researchers (primary) and industrial R&D users (secondary).

NanoTerasu is not a commercial enterprise and does not generate or disclose revenue. It is funded by the Japanese government as national research infrastructure, with MEXT performing an intermediate evaluation of facility performance. The revenue model is best characterized as managed public research infrastructure: operating costs are absorbed through institutional budgets of the three managing organizations, and end-user pricing is not publicly disclosed. The marketing footprint consists of organic channels — a comprehensive website (nanoterasu.jp), X (@NanoTerasu3GeV), Facebook (@nanoterasu), public facility tours, Science Day and Open Day events, and the "Chatting on the TERASU" blog — all aimed at researcher recruitment and public science communication rather than commercial demand generation.

Name

NanoTerasu

Legal name

NanoTerasu (3 GeV Synchrotron Radiation Facility)

Website

https://nanoterasu.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Short description

NanoTerasu is a 3 GeV high-brightness synchrotron radiation facility in Sendai, Japan, jointly operated by QST, PhoSIC, and JASRI. It provides public shared-use beamlines to academic and industrial researchers for nanoscale X-ray analysis across materials science, physics, chemistry, and biology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Synchrotron Radiation Research Facility

NAICS

Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)

SIC

Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)

akta.pro primary industry

Compound Semiconductor Wafers & Substrates (SiC/GaN/GaAs/InP/Sapphire) (HDAHAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Quantum Magnetometry (SQUID/OPM/NV and related) (HDAGAHAD)

Keywords

• Synchrotron radiation facility
• X-ray beamlines
• Nanoscale imaging
• Shared beamline access
• Scientific research infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Sendai-shi

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Government-funded Research Infrastructure: Operated as a national research facility managed by国立研究開発法人量子科学技術研究開発機構 (QST), 一般財団法人光科学イノベーションセンター (PhoSIC), and 公益財団法人高輝度光科学研究センター (JASRI) under government funding

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NanoTerasu is a 3 GeV high-brightness synchrotron radiation facility in Sendai, Japan that produces extremely bright X-rays and other electromagnetic radiation for nanoscale observation. It provides shared-use beamlines (共用ビームライン) to academic and industrial researchers for materials science, physics, chemistry, and biology research applications. Users apply for beamtime through a public use portal and gain scheduled access during three-shift daily operations.

Product overview

NanoTerasu is a 3 GeV high-brightness synchrotron radiation facility located at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. It provides共用beamlines (shared/public beamlines) to researchers for advanced materials analysis, structural biology, spectroscopy, and other scientific applications. The facility is operated jointly by the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), the Photon Science Innovation Center (PhoSIC), and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI). Users can apply for beamtime through a public use system and participate in various research programs. The facility offers facility tours, educational programs, and hosts public events such as NanoTerasu Science Day and Open Days.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shared-Use Beamline Access (共用ビームライン利用) Scheduled access to multiple public-use synchrotron beamlines for academic and industrial researchers; users apply through the user.nanoterasu.jp portal and receive beamtime upon application review, operating under a shared-use system (共用利用制度) with three-shift daily availability.
• Coalition Beamline Access (コアリションビームライン共用利用)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) / 国立研究開発法人量子科学技術研究開発機構coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQST manages NanoTerasu Center and serves as the primary managing organization. QST's NanoTerasu Center handles accelerator operations, research promotion, and administration. The facility Director and key personnel are from QST.
• Photon Science Innovation Center (PhoSIC) / 一般材質光科学イノベーションセンターcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhoSIC is a co-owner of the NanoTerasu trademark and operates the coalition system (コアリション制度). Led by President Masaki Takata, PhoSIC contributes to facility operations and user support.
• Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) / 公益��生高輝度光科学研究センターcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJASRI operates the NanoTerasu Research Center (ナノテラス拠点) and provides user support services. JASRI handles public beamline information and user assistance through user.nanoterasu.jp portal.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF): China's 3.5 GeV synchrotron located in Shanghai, operated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Comparable third-generation synchrotron offering shared beamlines for academic and industrial users across Asia.
• Diamond Light Source: UK's national 3 GeV synchrotron facility operating multiple beamlines for materials science, biology, and physics research. Closely comparable to NanoTerasu in energy class, beamline portfolio, and mission of providing shared access to industrial and academic users.
• SOLEIL Synchrotron: French 2.75 GeV synchrotron facility offering ~30 beamlines for scientific and industrial research. Comparable in scale, energy class, and public/industrial user access model to NanoTerasu.
• MAX IV Laboratory: Sweden's 3 GeV synchrotron facility, among the first of the new-generation multibend achromat light sources. Comparable in energy class and recent vintage to NanoTerasu, providing shared beamlines for materials and life science research.
• ALBA Synchrotron: Spain's 3 GeV synchrotron facility near Barcelona, operated as a public consortium. Highly comparable in energy class, scale, and the model of providing shared beamlines for academic and industrial research users.
• Photon Factory (KEK): 2.5 GeV synchrotron radiation facility at Japan's High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Tsukuba. Comparable as a domestic Japanese synchrotron providing beamlines to academic and industrial users for materials and life science research.
• Canadian Light Source (CLS): Canada's 2.9 GeV synchrotron in Saskatchewan, operated as a national user facility. Comparable in energy class, public-beamline model, and serving academic and industrial researchers across diverse scientific disciplines.

Broad incumbents

• European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF): European 6 GeV synchrotron in Grenoble, France—one of the world's most productive light sources. Operates as a multi-national user facility with shared beamline access, comparable in mission and user model, though at higher energy.
• SPring-8: Japan's flagship 8 GeV synchrotron radiation facility located in Hyogo. JASRI operates both SPring-8 and NanoTerasu's user support, making them directly comparable large-scale light source facilities serving Japanese and international researchers.
• Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory: U.S. Department of Energy 7 GeV synchrotron at Argonne National Laboratory. Comparable as a major national user facility providing synchrotron beamlines to researchers, though at higher energy and serving a larger scientific community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NanoTerasu3GeV
• Facebookfacebook.com/nanoterasu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 NanoTerasu