MOFs Starting to See Real-World Use, Years after Paper by Nobel Prize Winner

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:08 JST, October 9, 2025

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are starting to see real-world use both in Japan and aboard, thanks primarily to the efforts of startups. Kyoto University Distinguished Prof. Susumu Kitagawa won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for their work in the development of MOFs.

In 2015, former staff of Kitagawa’s laboratory, along with others, established the Kobe-based Atomis Inc., a Kyoto University spin-off focused on developing products using MOFs. The firm developed CubiTan, an advanced high-pressure gas container for more efficient gas storage and distribution, taking advantage of the MOF’s ability to absorb large amounts of gas. CubiTan was exhibited at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo.

By working with Atomis, Nippon Fusso Co. in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, commercialized a fluororesin coating technology that incorporates MOFs in 2020. When this coating is used inside metal tanks for storing acids, the MOFs absorb the acid, improving the tanks’ corrosion resistance.

“Much time has passed since Kitagawa’s 1997 paper, but we have finally been able to commercialize it in Japan,” said Atomis founder Masakazu Higuchi. Higuchi is an associate professor at the university and has been doing research under Kitagawa for many years.

In 2016, British startup MOF Technologies Ltd., also known as Nuada, developed a product using MOFs to store and release a gas that prolongs the life of fruits and vegetables. This is thought to be the world’s first commercial use of MOFs.

A technology for capturing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is also attracting attention. The devices, developed by Canadian startup Svante Technologies Inc., capture CO2 from emissions at cement plants and similar facilities.

In February 2024, major city gas provider Toho Gas Co. based in Nagoya began testing similar devices at a facility in Aichi Prefecture, as it aims to create a technology for capturing CO2 from factory emissions.

According to Higuchi, at least 51 MOF-related startups have been launched worldwide. “Social implementation of MOF-related technology has been steadily progressing,” he said, “primarily thanks to the efforts of startups, and the pace is likely to pick up.”