Real Tech Holdings, Inc. is pleased to announce its investment in OPTMASS – tapping into unharnessed solar energy through transparent solar cells to address urban energy challenges

Real Tech Fund*1, operated by Real Tech Holdings, Inc. (Location: Sumida-ku, Tokyo, Representative: Yukihiro Maru, Akihiko Nagata), has made an investment in OPTMASS Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, President: Nakagawa Toru), a venture that aims to achieve energy harvesting from infrared light, an untapped resource contributing to urban warming. OPTMASS plans to utilize the funds from this investment to advance research and development of nano-particles that absorb infrared light and work towards reducing urban energy consumption and achieving zero-emission through power generation.

Utilizing Untapped Resource “Infrared Light” for Energy Conversion:

Infrared light, which makes up approximately 46% of solar energy, is an untapped resource in traditional solar power generation. Infrared light possesses heating properties, as seen in heating devices, and contributes to global warming as well as increased energy consumption in cooling heated buildings. OPTMASS has achieved efficient conversion of infrared light into energy through localized surface plasmon resonance*2 using nano-particles. These nano-particles, coated on materials like glass and resin, exhibit high durability, making them suitable for preventing infrared-induced warming in buildings and car windows while simultaneously generating energy to promote zero-emission.

Purpose and Use of Fundraising:

This funding was jointly provided by Real Tech Holdings, Inc. and Samurai Incubate Fund No. 7 Investment Business Limited Liability Association operated by Samurai Incubate Inc. (Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Sakakibara Kentaro).
With this capital, OPTMASS plans to establish scale-up technology for nano-particle manufacturing and aims to conduct sample sales by the year 2023. Moreover, they will focus on building their team, and organizational development to provide support for their development efforts.

Comment from the Representative:

While research on using infrared light for power generation has been conducted extensively, practical power generation has remained elusive. OPTMASS has achieved a breakthrough, significantly improving the efficiency of infrared light scattering and absorption compared to conventional methods, and has successfully achieved wide-range wavelength control. We firmly believe that this revolutionary technology by OPTMASS will enable them to fulfill their vision of “turning cities into forests” and contribute to solving the world’s energy issues.
(Taro Kinoshita, Growth Manager, Real Tech Holdings, Inc.)

*1 Official Name: “Real Tech Fund 3 Investment Business Limited Liability Association” (commonly known as “Global Deep Tech Fund”).

*2 Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance: A phenomenon in which light incident on the surface of metal nano-particles resonates with the oscillation of electrons on the nano-particle’s surface, leading to strong confinement or scattering.

About OPTMASS Co., Ltd.:

• Established: October 2021
• Location: 1-25 Nishinohata, Okubo-cho, Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture
• Representative: Toru Nakagawa
• Capital: 104.9 million yen
• Business: Research and development of transparent solar cells / Research and development of infrared light control technology / Production and sales of nano-particles with infrared light control capability
• Official Website: https://optmass.jp/
• Investment Period: December 2022

About Real Tech Holdings:

Real Tech Holdings Co., Ltd. is committed to addressing societal challenges through the investment and nurturing of deep tech startups with innovative technologies (Real Tech). Our venture capital fund, “Real Tech Fund,” was established by Akihiko Nagata, CEO of Euglena Co., Ltd., who has a proven track record of successfully guiding deep tech startups, and Yukihiro Maru, CEO of Leave a Nest Co., Ltd., who possesses extensive experience in supporting deep tech startups from their early stages. We work closely with governments, companies, and municipalities both domestically and internationally, providing hands-on support to enhance the value of deep tech startups. With over 20 billion JPY in managed assets, Real Tech Fund has invested in over 90 startups in Japan and globally. In 2021, it established the first impact investment fund in Japan focused on the deep tech sector.
Website: https://www.realtech.holdings

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