JAPAN: Daikin has invested in Atomis, a Japanese start-up from Kyoto University, which is developing organic compounds for refrigerant recovery.
The work is using porous coordination polymers (PCPs), also called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). They are described as “porous materials” with countless nanometer-sized pores that form a regular and continuous three-dimensional structure of metals and organic compounds. It is possible to freely design the pore space in the form of a network, and by changing the size, shape and characteristics of the pores, it is possible to adsorb and separate only specific gas molecules.
Daikin has been collaborating with Atomis since 2020, applying Atomis advanced gas control technology to the separation and regeneration of refrigerant gas recovered from air conditioners.
Atomis will use the funds, obtained through a third-party new share allocation, to accelerate this process and expand its production process for the mass production of MOFs. Daikin will promote the use of MOF in the refrigerant regeneration process at its chemical plants, with the aim of improving the accuracy and speed of impurity removal from refrigerants.
