Nobel Prize for refrigerant reclaim developer
10th October 2025
SWEDEN/JAPAN: A scientist responsible for the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a porous material which could be used in the reclamation of refrigerants, has won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
Susumu Kitagawa, executive vice-president and distinguished professor at Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study, will share the award and SKR11m (€1m) prize money with three other developers of the technology – Professor Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Professor Omar M Yaghi of the University of California, USA.
Metal-organic frameworks are a new type of molecular architecture, also known as porous coordination polymers (PCPs). They are described as “porous materials” with countless nano-sized pores that form a regular, continuous three-dimensional structure of metals and organic compounds. It is possible to freely design the lattice-like pore space, and by changing the size, shape, and characteristics of the pores, it is possible to adsorb and separate only specific gas molecules.
Researchers have used them to harvest water from desert air, extract pollutants from water, capture carbon dioxide and store hydrogen.
Susumu Kitagawa heads up Atomis, a Japanese startup company from Kyoto University, which is developing applications for MOFs. In 2023, Atomis attracted investment from Japanese air conditioning and refrigerant manufacturer, Daikin.
The two companies had been collaborating with Atomis since 2020 on applying Atomis’ advanced gas control technology to the separation and regeneration of refrigerant recovered from air conditioners.
Daikin is using MOF in the refrigerant regeneration process at its chemical plants, aiming to improve the accuracy and speed of removing impurities from refrigerants.
Related stories:
Daikin invests in organic refrigerant reclamation – 14 January 2023
JAPAN: Daikin has invested in Atomis, a Japanese startup company from Kyoto University, that is developing organic compounds for the reclamation of refrigerants. Read more…
