Tsubame BHB selected as a "2025 Global Cleantech 100" company

• Recognized for innovative ammonia manufacturing technologies using low-temperature, low-pressure tech and renewable energy

YOKOHAMA, Japan, Jan. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tsubame BHB Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Yokohama, Kanagawa Pref.; Representative Director and CEO: Koji Nakamura), which strives for the social implementation and commercialization of distributed ammonia production plants, has been named on Cleantech Groups. This annual 2025 Global Cleantech 100 list, now in its 16th year, showcases the most promising private cleantech companies making significant contributions to sustainable innovation.

Tsubame BHB was established in 2017 as a venture company originating at the Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly the Tokyo Institute of Technology) with a Vision of "Tackle social issues, including environmental and food problems, using our unique state-of-the-art technologies." Its goal is to contribute to the on-site production of ammonia at distributed plants, using technologies that synthesize ammonia at low temperature and low pressure. Tsubame BHB uses electride catalyst technologies developed by Professor Emeritus Hideo Hosono and is focusing its efforts on the overseas deployment of these technologies, mainly in North and South America, Australia, and Africa.

With the recent selection, the company was recognized for its innovative technology that enables the manufacture of ammonia at low temperature and low pressure, and which reduces environmental impact in comparison to conventional technologies. Ammonia, in addition to applications in fuel and chemical fertilizers, has gained attention as an important material for achieving a carbon neutral society. Through technical innovations in this field, Tsubame BHB will continue to work toward the further realization of environmental value and a carbon neutral society by incorporating manufacturing processes that utilize renewable energy.

Tsubame BHB's main achievements

Last year, Tsubame BHB welcomed its first overseas investors, and procured capital totaling approximately 5.3 billion yen in a Series C round of financing. It has gained increasing attention from overseas, for example becoming the only Japanese company to be selected for the "Startup Scale Program" in Germany. Recently, CEO Martins Brinins of MP INDUSTRIES, a green hydrogen project developer in Estonia, came to visit Tsubame BHB. In addition, a group representing PT PLN, an Indonesian government-owned power company, visited Tsubame BHB's pilot plant. This is an indication that various countries are showing an increased interest in the company's technologies.

In Japan as well, the company has received an order for a second unit to be installed as a small industrial ammonia manufacturing facility, and this year, ammonia production is scheduled to begin at Tsubame BHB's first commercial unit in a small ammonia synthesis facility, which is being introduced for comprehensive verification tests in the manufacture and use of blue hydrogen and ammonia.

About Global Cleantech 100 (https://www.cleantech.com/the-global-cleantech-100/）  

The Global Cleantech 100 program has been running since 2009 by Cleantech Group. Cleantech® Group is a research-driven company that helps corporates, public sector, investors and others, identify, assess, and engage with the innovative solutions and opportunities that are related to the world's massive, and growing, environmental and climate challenges. Their insights and expertise are delivered to clients all over the world through our Research, Consulting, and Events. The cleantech theme is poised for pivotal milestones in 2025 as market forces intensify and innovation accelerates. Continuing trends from 2024, including policy uncertainty, groundbreaking first-of-a-kind (FOAK) projects, and the surging demand for climate adaptation technologies, will emphasize the importance of product and project economics.

"2025 will be remembered as a transformative year for cleantech. The bar has gone up for what kind of level of potential novelty, uniqueness, and cost improvements might be attractive," said Richard Youngman, CEO of Cleantech Group. "The Global Cleantech 100 highlights innovators who are building the foundation for a sustainable and economically viable future."

About Tsubame BHB (https://tsubame-bhb.co.jp/ )

Tsubame BHB is a deep tech company with a Vision of "tackling social issues, including environmental and food problems, using our unique state-of-the-art technologies." Its goal is to contribute to the on-site production of ammonia at small-scale, distributed plants, using technologies that synthesize ammonia at low pressures and low temperatures. Established in 2017, Tsubame BHB utilizes electride catalyst technologies developed by Tokyo Tech's Professor Emeritus Hosono, and is currently strengthening the overseas deployment of these technologies, mainly in North and South America, Australia, and Africa. In 2023, the company was invited by the Japanese government to set up a booth at the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai. We are the only Japanese company to have been selected for the Startup Scale Program in Germany in 2024, and we are currently promoting collaborations with companies mainly in the EU.

Company overview

Name: Tsubame BHB Co., Ltd.
Representative Director and CEO: Koji Nakamura
URL: https://tsubame-bhb.co.jp/
Head office: 2-3-12 Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Pref.Shin-Yokohama Square Building, 6F
Established: April 2017
Outline of business:

• R&D, sales, and facilities maintenance related to on-site ammonia supply systems
• R&D, manufacturing, and sales involving synthetic ammonia catalysts
• Manufacturing and sales of ammonia and ammonia-related products