2026-07-15

NanoFrontier Designated as a 'Research Institution' for KAKENHI Grants by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

Tohoku University–Born Startup Gains Eligibility to Apply for KAKENHI — Strengthening Recruitment of KAKENHI-Funded Researchers

NanoFrontier Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Sendai, Miyagi; Representative Director: Seiya Inoue; hereinafter “NanoFrontier”) is pleased to announce that, effective June 26, 2026, the company has been designated as a “Research Institution” as defined under Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the Regulations for Handling Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Institution Number: 91304).

With this designation, researchers affiliated with NanoFrontier are now eligible to apply for Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) on the same basis as researchers at universities and other institutions. In conjunction with this, NanoFrontier will actively strengthen its recruitment of researchers who are currently conducting KAKENHI-funded projects, as well as those who aspire to obtain KAKENHI funding in the future.

NanoFrontier Research Institution Designation

Overview of the Designation Application

KAKENHI is a national competitive research funding program that supports academic research across all disciplines, from the humanities and social sciences to the natural sciences. While researchers affiliated with universities and national research institutes are the primary applicants, researchers at private companies must be affiliated with an institution designated as a “Research Institution” by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in order to apply for KAKENHI.

The following criteria must be met to receive the designation:

  • The institution must be organized for the purpose of conducting research.
  • A research organization dedicated exclusively to research must be established.
  • An institutional framework must be in place that allows researchers to independently formulate and execute research plans and to publish their findings at their own discretion.

With this designation, NanoFrontier has been recognized as a research institution meeting all of these criteria and is now authorized to carry out all administrative procedures related to KAKENHI.

Background of the Designation Application

The nanomaterial synthesis that NanoFrontier pursues is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of materials science, chemical engineering, and information science — one in which numerous fundamental and academic challenges remain that cannot be fully addressed through short-term product development alone. NanoFrontier applied for this designation in order to engage with these challenges from a medium- to long-term perspective, in parallel with its business activities.

The following research areas represent the domains NanoFrontier intends to explore through KAKENHI funding:

① Elucidating the Structural Control Mechanisms of Nanoparticles

Precisely controlling the particle size, morphology, and surface properties of nanoparticles requires a systematic understanding of the relationship between reaction conditions and product structure during the synthesis process. NanoFrontier aims to bring academic rigor to this area, which has historically relied on empirical knowledge, and to establish it on a more systematic scientific foundation.

② Optimizing Nanomaterial Design Processes Using AI and Simulation

Building on the company’s AI-driven R&D automation pipeline, NanoFrontier will pursue academically rigorous research into methods for generating and collecting materials data, feature engineering, and the construction and validation of predictive models.

③ Foundational Research for Applications in Environmental and Energy Fields

NanoFrontier will accumulate fundamental knowledge on themes directly linked to solving societal challenges — including high-sensitivity detection technologies for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), the application of nanoparticles to next-generation battery materials, and elucidating the mechanisms by which nanomaterials exhibit functional properties in thermal-fluid systems.

Researcher Recruitment

KAKENHI is a program designed to support academic research driven by researchers’ free intellectual curiosity and independent ideas. The fact that private companies are included as eligible institutions reflects an institutional recognition that basic research is not the exclusive domain of universities — companies, too, can be agents of new knowledge creation. NanoFrontier aspires to be a company that embodies this philosophy.

With this designation, researchers affiliated with NanoFrontier can now apply for and conduct KAKENHI-funded research, creating an environment where academic research and business development can coexist. NanoFrontier will use this designation as an opportunity to actively recruit the following types of researchers:

For Researchers Currently Conducting KAKENHI Projects — Choose Your Career by Research Theme, Not by Affiliation

Through the prescribed procedures, it is possible to continue an ongoing research project at NanoFrontier. The feasibility and process will vary depending on the grant category, timing, and other conditions, so please feel free to reach out for an individual consultation.

Creating an environment where academic research can be continued within a company increases the mobility of talent between universities, companies, and research institutions. We believe that a state in which researchers can choose their careers based on “what research themes they pursue” rather than “where they are affiliated” forms the true foundation for borderless industry-academia collaboration.

For Researchers Aspiring to Obtain KAKENHI Funding — Remain a Researcher While Working in Industry

With NanoFrontier as the applying institution, researchers can submit new applications for Early-Career Scientist grants, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, and other categories. Our management team and administrative staff will provide integrated support, from formulating research plans to completing application procedures.

NanoFrontier has codified in its internal regulations that researchers may independently formulate and execute research plans and publish their findings at their own discretion. We are committed to building an environment where researchers can maintain and develop their autonomy and research careers while working within a company.

For Those Interested in Both Basic Research and Business Development — Where Intellectual Inquiry Reaches Social Implementation

Leveraging our location on Tohoku University’s Katahira Campus, researchers can build a research career that spans both basic research and business development in close collaboration with the university.

Academic research does not necessarily aim for short-term practical application. But it is precisely for this reason that when discoveries born from intellectual inquiry are smoothly translated into society through a company, they generate long-term value and sustained technological innovation as technologies grounded in scientific principles. NanoFrontier is committed to advancing basic research and social implementation not as separate endeavors, but as a unified whole.

For inquiries and applications regarding recruitment, please contact us through our careers website.

Careers Website: https://careers.nanofrontier.jp/

Comment from the CEO

“I am deeply honored by this designation as a research institution. NanoFrontier is a startup built on Tohoku University’s nanoparticle synthesis technologies, and we have always valued the accumulation of academic research as the foundation underlying our commercialization efforts. With this designation, we now have the framework to advance basic research and social implementation in an integrated manner, leveraging KAKENHI funding. We will continue to develop our research environment and pursue recruitment so that NanoFrontier can become a meaningful career option for researchers currently conducting KAKENHI projects, as well as for those who aspire to apply in the future.”

Seiya Inoue, Representative Director

About KAKENHI (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research)

KAKENHI is a national competitive research funding program aimed at significantly advancing “academic research” — research based on researchers’ free and independent ideas — across all disciplines, from the humanities and social sciences to the natural sciences. Administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the program awards grants to original and pioneering research through a peer review process.

Company Profile

  • Company Name: NanoFrontier Co., Ltd.
  • Representative: Seiya Inoue, Representative Director
  • Address: Room 215, Material Solutions Center (MaSC), Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi Prefecture
  • Established: April 7, 2025
  • Business Activities:
    • R&D, manufacturing, and sales of reagents and functional materials using organic nanoparticle technologies
    • Contract manufacturing of organic nanoparticles and provision of related technologies
    • Technology licensing and consulting in the field of organic nanoparticle technologies
  • Website: https://nanofrontier.jp