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Ecotech Grand Prix 2025: Grand Prize Won by SulfurScience - From Discarded Sulfur to Recycling Materials of the Future
2025/09/22
On Saturday, September 20, 2025, LEVANES Corporation held the "Ecotech Grand Prix 2025" at the Center of Garage (Sumida-ku, Tokyo), where the Grand Prize and Company Awards were presented.
Since 2020, the Tech Planter has been developed under the concept of "Deep Issue & Deep Tech Explorer," in which unsolved issues (Deep Issue) are solved with the collective power of science and technology (Deep Tech). This year, 335 teams from Japan and abroad applied. Twelve teams selected from among them took the stage as finalists and passionately presented their ideas for solving social issues using technology and the possibilities for developing fundamental technologies.
The prestigious Grand Prize went to SulfurScience (theme: "From Discarded Sulfur to Recycling Materials of the Future"). Mr. Kobayashi, the team leader, has been developing a technology to transform sulfur, a waste product of petroleum refining, into a new functional polymer that can be used as an adhesive or self-healing material, based on his passion for "not letting children believe that plastic is evil. In addition to his technological prowess, his overwhelming passion for his research and his grand vision to open up a new world of "sulfur circulation" to replace carbon won the hearts of all the judges, and he was awarded the Grand Prize.
SulfurScience, along with the Tech Planter Best of the Best teams in six other areas,The Japan Society for Hyperdifferentiation 2026 Tokyo-Kanto Conference(March 6 and 7, 2026) to participate in a special pitch session. In addition, the two teams that excel in this session will advance to the TECH PLANTER Asia Final 2026.Through this platform, LIVERNESS will expand the ecosystem in Japan and Southeast Asia where venture companies, large corporations, mid-sized companies, and researchers will work together to solve deep issues.
SulfurScience, winner of the Grand Prize, and the entire jury
List of Company Awards and Grand Prizes
| Team Name | theme | winning (a prize) |
| Carbon CryoCapture Inc. | World's cheapest ($7/t-CO₂) CO₂ separation and recovery technology | Tokai Carbon Award |
| Yuhai Co. | Development of systems to maximize the use of heat from hot springs and geothermal resources | |
| BioPhenolics Corporation | Aromatic biochemicals production technology that does not rely on petroleum | |
| Spacewasp Inc. | Circulating interior infrastructure with plants that fix air CO | DAIKEN Award |
| Ammon Fields Corporation | Highly efficient Haber-Bosch ammonia production | Niterra Award
Real Tech Fund Award |
| AP Plasma Membranes | Leading the way to a sustainable society with membranes that separate molecules. | |
| CaMaDo | Ultrafast Gas Separation Membrane for Air Resources | Kyocera Award |
| CaptureSmith | Ultra energy-efficient, carbon dioxide recovery from air and exhaust gases | ZACROS Award |
| ReFLight | Mild photochemical reactions that convert persistent chemicals into resources | Asahi Yukizai Award |
| SulfurScience | From Discarded Sulfur to Recyclable Materials of the Future | Grand Prize
Mipox Award |
| green moss | Developed moss plant greening technology and thermal barrier construction materials with diatomaceous earth | Ando Hazama Award |
| Trial Depot | Artificial switches enable true plastic circulation | DNP Award |
Demo Day Implementation Overview
Name of the Grand Prix: Ecotech Grand Prix 2025
Location: Center of Garage (1-16-3 Yokogawa, Sumida-ku, Tokyo 130-0003, Japan)
Date: Saturday, September 20, 2025, 13:00-19:00
Participation: Closed, pre-registration required (entry teams, partner companies, Super Factory Group Professional Supporters)
Related:Ecotech Grand Prix
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