Opening Ceremony for New Lab Held in Kashiwanoha

On September 6, 2024, we held an opening ceremony for our newly established research lab in the Kashiwa-no-ha Campus area of Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture.

Approximately 50 guests from industry, government, and academia—including representatives from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Universal Materials Incubator (UMI), and Aomori Bank—gathered to celebrate the launch of our new research hub.

The ceremony featured a traditional kagami-biraki (sake barrel opening) to mark a new beginning, as well as a symbolic Japanese daruma ritual, in which participants wrote their aspirations and filled in the left eye of the daruma doll in hope for future success.

In his address, our CEO Dr. Hoshino remarked,

"I am confident that this new research base will serve as a bridge to the future, expanding the reach of LiSMIC not only across Japan, but to the world."

Outlook for the Future

The Kashiwanoha Lab is a cutting-edge facility dedicated to addressing global challenges associated with the growing demand for lithium. It is developing the world’s first lithium recovery system utilizing ceramic membranes—known as the LiSMIC Unit.

Looking ahead, we plan to actively foster open innovation through strong collaborations with universities and corporate partners.