About Us

Founded in 2019 as a spin-out from Tohoku University, AZUL Energy is a startup united by one mission—“to co-create a sustainable society through our unique bio-inspired technology.” Moved by the Great East Japan Earthquake, we are committed from Tohoku to advancing the clean energy transition and delivering sustainable energy solutions to the world.

Climate change is no longer a distant risk; it is already affecting our lives. Meeting this global challenge requires shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy and building systems that use energy without waste. At the heart of that effort is our rare-metal-free “AZUL catalyst.”

The AZUL catalyst emerged serendipitously from blue-pigment research at Tohoku University. Without relying on rare metals, it can deliver activity comparable to platinum and other conventional catalysts—carried in a striking blue that convinced me it could change the world. Bringing it to market could dramatically improve next-generation energy devices—from metal–air batteries to fuel cells and hydrogen systems—while reducing cost and enabling global scale without resource bottlenecks or environmental harm.

For five years we have explored that potential. The AZUL catalyst family builds on an azauliporphyrin-inspired scaffold, with combinations of metals and substituents forming a library of over two hundred catalysts—each catalyzing different reactions with unique hues, reminiscent of heme motifs in proteins such as hemoglobin and cytochrome c. With partners spanning Tohoku University’s Yabu lab and beyond, shareholders, and collaborators, we have worked through operating conditions, evaluation methods, and paths to adoption. Much like each catalyst differs in activity and color, colleagues with varied expertise join us daily—sharing the joys and hardships of startup life and driving our progress forward.

Through this exploration I am convinced that AZUL catalysts will become the platform chemistry for carbon neutrality. I also keenly recognize how hard that climb will be. As President, I will focus strategy, disciplined commercialization, and global foundations so partners continue to rely on us and every teammate can flourish and feel proud of their work.

Our future is one where AZUL-equipped energy devices spread worldwide and anyone can access clean energy—not by competing to extract finite resources, but by designing with care and living in harmony with the environment. We will keep pursuing that sustainable society with integrity.