Innovation Kyoto 2021 Investment Limited Partnership ("KYOTO-iCAP No.2 Fund"), with Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corporation ("Kyoto iCAP") (Head Office: Sakyo-ku, Kyoto; Representative Director: Ko Kusumi) as unlimited liability partner, has made a new investment in OOYOO Ltd. (Head office: Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto; Representative Director: Shogo Otani).

Overview of this investment
OOYOO is a start-up that develops gas permeable separation membranes based on polymer physics, founded by Professor Ethan Sivania of the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), Kyoto University. By combining several special polymer membranes, the company has the technology to separate carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), and ammonia (NH3) from mixed gases at high speed and high efficiency.

OOYOO has already completed a bench-top prototype and has succeeded in concentrating and separating CO2 from combustion gases to about 95% CO2 concentration in a stable manner over a long period of time. We are also developing technologies to meet all kinds of needs, such as CO2 recovery from fermentation processes and concentration of oxygen in gases.

The company already has a structure that enables global business development, with Prof. Ethan Sivania from the U.K. as the founder, Shogo Otani, who has 14 years of overseas experience with a general trading company as the COO, and Dr. Ralph Nasara from the Philippines as the CTO. With the funds raised this time, OOYOO will accelerate research and development toward the completion of the demonstration test machine.

Kyoto-iCAP has invested 150 million yen out of a total of about 430 million yen in a third-party allocation of new shares in collaboration with Kankyo Energy Investment Corporation, UTokyo Innovation Platform Co.,Ltd., and Kyoto Capital Partners Co. Ltd..

OOYOO Ltd.　summary
Establishment : January 2020
Business : Development of air and other gas separation technology and sales of its products
Head Office Address : 134 Chudoji-Minami-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan
Representative Director : Shogo Otani
HP:https://www.ooyoo.co.jp/ 

About Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd.
　As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kyoto University, KYOTO-iCAP provides investment and other business support to companies that utilize research results generated by Kyoto University and other national universities. We currently operate the Innovation Kyoto 2016 Investment Limited Partnership ("KYOTO-iCAP 1 Fund") (established in January 2016) with a total value of 16 billion yen and the KYOTO-iCAP 2 Fund (established in January 2021) with a total value of 18.1 billion yen. The KYOTO-iCAP No. 1 Fund has a maturity of up to 20 years, and the KYOTO-iCAP No. 2 Fund has a maturity of up to 17 years, making it possible to provide long-term support for the practical application of research results from Kyoto University, which has strengths in basic research. In addition, KYOTO-iCAP No. 2 Fund will invest a portion of the funds in ventures originating from national universities other than Kyoto University.

Contact information for inquiries
Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd.
36-1 Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8317, Japan
Osami Kono, Senior Officer, Business Development Department
TEL: 075-753-7588 FAX: 075-753-7592
E-mail: info@kyoto-unicap.co.jp