●○○ low
The assessment is on hold, awaiting a build-up of confirmed evidence.= non-additive meter
Atomis Inc.: Bringing the Nobel-winning “MOF” into society (CO2 capture, next-gen gas cylinders). The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Special Professor Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, who created the porous material “MOF (metal-organic framework),” in which metal ions are linked by organic molecules. Atomis, a Kyoto-University-originated startup where Kitagawa serves as science advisor, has taken on the “social implementation” of that MOF for the past ten years. It was founded by Masakazu Higuchi in 2015. Because MOFs store gas in countless nano-level pores, putting them in a cylinder lets gas be compressed at low pressure, and they can also be used for CO2 capture from exhaust gas and hydrogen transport. Atomis developed the compact, lightweight next-generation gas container “CubiTan” and envisions a distributed gas-distribution network linked by IoT. In 2026, together with Kobe Steel and Nagase & Co., it succeeded in a demonstration of a MOF-based CO2-capture device at a scale of 30 kg per day, and next aims for ton scale. At present independent evidence is scarce, so the assessment is on hold. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q2; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Special Professor Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, who created the porous material “MOF (metal-organic framework),” in which metal ions are linked by organic molecules. Atomis, a Kyoto-University-originated startup where Kitagawa serves as science advisor, has taken on the “social implementation” of that MOF for the past ten years. It was founded by Masakazu Higuchi in 2015.
Because MOFs store gas in countless nano-level pores, putting them in a cylinder lets gas be compressed at low pressure, and they can also be used for CO2 capture from exhaust gas and hydrogen transport. Atomis developed the compact, lightweight next-generation gas container “CubiTan” and envisions a distributed gas-distribution network linked by IoT. In 2026, together with Kobe Steel and Nagase & Co., it succeeded in a demonstration of a MOF-based CO2-capture device at a scale of 30 kg per day, and next aims for ton scale.
One person’s story (N1)
+ before → after
In 2026, Atomis, joining with Kobe Steel and Nagase & Co., succeeded in a demonstration capturing 30 kg of CO2 per day with a device using MOF as the adsorbent. The effort to scale MOF CO2 capture toward practical use with industrial application in mind is a first in Japan, and it next moves to a ton-scale demonstration. But this is the demonstration stage, and the scale of CO2 actually removed lies ahead.
Source nature: 日経GX / KOBELCO / P2 major media. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- See the N1 above for the main positive story; independently verified + will be added over time.
− effects (confirmed)
- No confirmed −.
- Implementation scale of CO2 capture and CubiTan; independent verification of real effects reaching protected stakeholders
A second look
Both CubiTan and CO2 capture are still at the development and demonstration stage. The distance between the story of decarbonization and correcting gas-infrastructure inequality and outcomes actually reaching protected stakeholders (nature, people) is large, so the assessment is on hold for now.
Sources
How to read this assessment
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the story an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q2 | Back to top