Kobelco, Atomis, and Nagase & Co. Demonstration Completed on CO₂ Capture With MOFs at Scale of 30 kg per Day

Apr. 16, 2026

Kobe Steel, Ltd.
Atomis Inc.
Nagase & Co., Ltd.

Kobe Steel, Ltd. (Head Office: Kobe, Hyogo; President and CEO Yoshihiko Katsukawa), Atomis Inc. (Head Office: Kobe, Hyogo; CEO: Daisuke Asari), and Nagase & Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and CEO: Hiroyuki Ueshima), as part of their development of a CO₂ capture device (MOF-PSA^*2) using metal-organic framework (MOF^*1) technology, for which the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded, have succeeded in a demonstration test on the scale of 30 kg of capture per day. This successful test has shown the technological effectiveness of implementing CO₂ capture technology using MOFs, and as the next step the three companies have begun examining and discussing a demonstration test on the metric ton scale in fiscal 2026. This is the first initiative in Japan to expand CO₂ capture technology using MOFs to a practical scale for potential industrial use.

This initiative aims to bring about practical use of a new solution for a carbon neutral society, with Atomis (where Professor Susumu Kitagawa, Distinguished Professor at Kyoto University who received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, serves as Scientific Advisor) developing MOF adsorbents, Kobe Steel developing the CO₂ capture device, and Nagase & Co. playing a central role by arranging marketing, sales, and the demonstration test flow.

The gas emitted by boilers and industrial furnaces in factories includes not only CO₂, but also moisture and nitrogen. CO₂ capture technology using existing adsorbents such as zeolites^*3 requires preprocessing equipment to remove moisture, leading to the equipment becoming larger and costing more energy. At the same time, companies are being urged to reduce their Scope 1–3 greenhouse gas emissions, with a growing need in particular for capture technology that can be introduced with reduced energy and space requirements to capture Scope 1 CO₂ directly released from companies’ own facilities.

The MOF-PSA CO₂ capture device the three companies demonstrated has MOFs that can selectively adsorb CO₂ installed in the device. This greatly simplifies the preprocessing required, allowing the device to use less energy and to be smaller in size. Another feature is that since it can be used even with gas emissions with a low concentration of CO₂, it can be installed in a variety of factories.

This demonstration test started in November 2025 at Kobe Steel’s Takasago Works, which is designated as Takasago GX Try Field^*4 (location: Takasago, Hyogo). The test focused on the gas emitted from burning city gas to assess whether the target performance (purity, amount captured, etc.) could be reached. Based on the results of this demonstration test, as the next step the three companies have begun examining a demonstration test on the metric ton scale for a CO₂ capture device with MOFs installed. This is the first attempt in Japan for carbon capture with the PSA method using MOFs at the ton level with an eye towards potential industrial use.

On-site usage of the captured CO₂ is being considered, as well as using it as dry ice. By converting CO₂, which has been partially dependent on overseas sourcing, into a resource circulated domestically, we aim to achieve both economic and environmental value. The three companies will accelerate efforts for practical application and commercialization and contribute to the creation of a carbon neutral society.

The Kobelco Group’s current medium-term management plan (Fiscal 2024–2026) identifies “enhancing earning power and pursuing growth” and “taking on the challenge of realizing carbon neutrality” as priority issues. To realize these goals, the Group is promoting transformation initiatives, collectively called KOBELCO-X. The success of this demonstration test is an example of AX and GX.

The Kobelco Group will continue to pursue the Group’s uniqueness by utilizing internal capital, such as technologies, human resources, and know-how cultivated in diverse businesses, in combination with external capital, such as relationships with a wide variety of customers and business partners, while further strengthening efforts to address materialities (medium- to long-term priority issues) and striving to realize a world in which people, now and in the future, can fulfill their hopes and dreams while enjoying safe, secure, and prosperous lives.