Money Forward's HIRAC FUND Invests in E-SEP, Developer of Ceramic Separation Membranes
HIRAC FUND, operated by Money Forward Venture Partners, a group company of Money Forward, has made an investment in E-SEP, which develops ceramic separation membranes.
Background of the Investment
Efforts toward decarbonization have become an urgent priority for society as a whole in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Although CO2 emissions are decreasing, the chemical industry in particular accounts for approximately 15.4% of CO2 emissions in Japan's industrial sector. The main cause of this is the massive equipment such as distillation towers used to separate chemical substances and the enormous amount of energy consumed there.
E-SEP, in which HIRAC FUND has invested, is a startup with the mission of "significantly miniaturizing and reducing energy consumption in chemical processes (reaction and separation)." The company aims to build a carbon-neutral (CN) society by revolutionizing the separation process, which is a fundamental process in the chemical industry, through its proprietary nano-ceramic separation membrane technology.
The membrane reactor developed by E-SEP is a technology that simultaneously performs chemical reactions and separation, enabling the miniaturization and on-site implementation of massive chemical processes. Without requiring special environments, it achieves separation of cleaning solutions and coatings in various manufacturing sites in ordinary spaces with space and energy savings.
Furthermore, the company is currently developing technology for recycling chemical solvents in factories and efficiently producing CN methanol from recovered CO2 and green hydrogen. "CN methanol" plays a role in converting CO2 into resources and serving as a hydrogen carrier capable of transporting hydrogen, which is difficult to transport, thereby contributing to the realization of a hydrogen society.
HIRAC FUND determined that E-SEP possesses technology to manufacture high-performance nano-ceramic separation membranes with high reproducibility, is already commercialized and highly evaluated by many chemical companies, and holds future potential to simultaneously solve multiple important issues toward carbon neutrality, and has made this investment.
Going forward, HIRAC FUND will provide support through collaboration with other business companies by leveraging the network of its fund.
E-SEP: Representative Profile
After obtaining a Ph.D. (Engineering) in separation membrane technology at Waseda University (Applied Chemistry), Kenichi Sawamura worked as a university assistant before joining a major engineering company. He later founded and established E-SEP in 2013 with the aim of implementing nano-porous ceramic separation membrane technology, his specialized field, into society.
Since establishment, Sawamura has promoted technology development and commercialization through an open innovation framework of industry-academia-government collaboration as the company's representative director. He aims for early social implementation of this technology toward a carbon-neutral society.
Norbert Gehrke
