Idea International Co., Ltd.

Idea International Co., Ltd. (イデア・インターナショナル株式会社) is a Japanese venture company based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, founded in April 2011. It is the world's only company that manufactures and sells lithium-ion endohedral fullerene, a nanomaterial it markets under the nickname "LiEF" and describes technically as Li+@C60. The company positions itself as a pioneer in the social implementation of bottom-up nanotechnology, bridging academic research on nanocarbon materials with industrial applications. The company's core product is Li+@C60, a fullerene cage that encapsulates a lithium ion. Idea International succeeded in mass synthesis of this material for the first time in the world and states that it is the only company able to synthesize it in macroscopic volumes. LiEF is shipped as a salt, mainly Li+@C60 and PF6-, in glass containers in units of 2 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg, primarily for research purposes. The company began selling the material as research samples in May 2012 and has supplied researchers for over a decade. Beyond supplying the material, Idea International supports research activities concerning fullerenes and Li+@C60, and works to bridge technical issues arising on-site with nanocarbon research. It is pursuing practical applications in areas such as perovskite solar cells, supercapacitors, high-sensitivity odor sensors, and innovative all-solid-state energy storage devices. The company envisions LiEF as a potential game-changer for next-generation devices, citing research suggesting that a single molecule can host multiple memory positions, enabling ultra-small, ultra-high-density molecular switches. Idea International is closely linked to Tohoku University in Sendai. It established an R&D prototype line at the Hatchery Square of the university's New Industry Creation Hatchery Center in December 2011. In 2015, it was adopted as the first theme of the Tohoku University Interdisciplinary Research Priority Program System, and an industrial collaboration project on endohedral fullerene nano-biotronics began at the university's Future Science and Technology Joint Research Center. The company also maintains a laboratory, Kitayama iiLabo, in Aoba-ku, Sendai. Leadership includes Chairman and Representative Director Tsutomu Fukamatsu, who is also president of Fukamatsu Gumi Co., Ltd., a construction company; President Yasuhiko Kasama; Director CPO Kazuhiko Kawachi; Director Glen Mansfeeld Kini, president and CEO of Cyber Solutions Inc.; Advisor Kotaro Kageyama, a lawyer and patent attorney; and Audit & Supervisory Board Member Toru Fukamatsu, vice president of Fukamatsu Gumi. The company received an equity loan from the Japan Finance Corporation in October 2013, the first such case in the Tohoku region. It remains a private venture and is not listed on a stock exchange.

Idea International Co., Ltd. was founded in April 2011 in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, as a venture company focused on the industrial application of nanocarbon materials. Its mission is to promote the social implementation of bottom-up nanotechnology, with a particular focus on endohedral fullerenes. In December 2011, the company established an R&D prototype line at the Hatchery Square of the New Industry Creation Hatchery Center at Tohoku University. This marked the beginning of its close collaboration with the university, which is located in the same city. In May 2012, Idea International began selling lithium-ion-encapsulating fullerene [Li+@C60](PF6)- as sample use for studies and research. This was a significant milestone, as the company succeeded in mass synthesis of this material for the first time in the world and became the only company able to synthesize it in macroscopic volumes. In October 2013, the company received an equity loan from the Japan Finance Corporation, the first such case in the Tohoku region. This provided financial backing for its research and development activities. In August 2015, Idea International was adopted as the first theme of the Tohoku University Interdisciplinary Research Priority Program System. In October 2015, an industrial collaboration promotion project titled "Creation of Endohedral Fullerene Nano Biotronics" started at the Future Science and Technology Joint Research Center of Tohoku University. These developments deepened the company's ties with academia and expanded its research scope. Over the years, Idea International has continued to supply LiEF to researchers and has been exploring practical applications. The company reports that after a decade of supplying researchers, features unique to lithium-ion endohedral fullerene have been discovered in applications such as perovskite solar cells, supercapacitors, and high-sensitivity odor sensors, and that these are now being commercialized. It also aims to develop innovative energy storage devices, including all-solid-state supercapacitors and the "Super Atom Energy Capacitor." The company remains a private venture, headquartered in Aoba-ku, Sendai, with an additional laboratory, Kitayama iiLabo, in the same ward. It is not listed on any stock exchange.

• 2015

  Adopted as the first theme of the Tohoku University Interdisciplinary Research Priority Program System

• 2015

  Industrial Collaboration Promotion Project "Creation of Endohedral Fullerene Nano Biotronics" started at Future Science and Technology Joint Research Center of Tohoku University

• 2013

  Japan Finance Corporation equity loan extended; the first case in Tohoku area

• 2012

  Started selling lithium-ion-encapsulating fullerene [Li+@C60](PF6)- as sample use for studies and research

• 2011

  Founded Idea International Co., Ltd.

• 2011

  Established R&D prototype line in Hatchery Square, New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University

World's only producer of lithium-ion endohedral fullerene, enabling bottom-up nanotechnology applications in energy devices and sensors.

• LiEF (Li+@C60)

  Lithium-ion endohedral fullerene, shipped as a salt mainly Li+@C60 and PF6-, in glass containers in units of 2 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg, primarily for research purposes.

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2. 2会社情報 | Idea Interlic60.info
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4. 4リチウムイオン内包フラーレン | Idea Interlic60.info
5. 5Idea International Co., Ltd. (Japan) - Wikidatawikidata.org