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As heat dissipation in electronic devices becomes an increasingly critical issue with the proliferation of data centers, EVs, and AI, we spoke with Kenji Nishitani, CEO of U-MAP, about his entrepreneurial journey, the company's unique materials technology, and his vision for the future of Japanese manufacturing.
Could you tell us about yourself and your background?
I'm Kenji Nishitani and I am originally from Kanazawa before moving to Nagoya for university. I was drawn towards materials engineering, particularly fascinated by solar cells' ability to generate power simply through materials' properties. I chose Nagoya as my destination because Tokyo and Osaka seemed too urban from Kanazawa's perspective - Nagoya felt like the perfect balance of urban development.
At university, I spent three years in a solar cell laboratory, researching next-generation solar cells. After completing my master's degree, I took what might seem an unexpected path and joined a supermarket chain. I was interested in technology implementation in society and found retail and distribution more appealing than manufacturing at the time.
Working for a supermarket, I started in store operations and bread production, eventually becoming an assistant store manager. I then moved to the headquarters, working in systems planning. About three years later, in May 2018, my university professor invited me to join a new company. I decided to join based on my intuition that it would be something exciting. It's now been about six and a half years since then.
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What led you to make the transition from a corporate job to a startup?
As someone with a stable job, I certainly had reservations about joining a startup. However, the prospect of a new challenge seemed 'exciting' and felt like an opportunity for personal growth. I believed the experience itself would be valuable, regardless of its success or failure.
Another major factor was my trust in Professor Ujihara, who invited me to join. He's the type of person who becomes more passionate as the challenges grow larger, with an unwavering determination to never give up. I was confident that working with someone like him would enable us to see things through to the end.
My supermarket supervisor was also very understanding, encouraging me by saying, 'You can always come back if things don't work out.' This allowed me to take on a meaningful challenge while mitigating the risks in a positive way.
Could you explain U-MAP's business?*
We work with aluminum nitride, a special ceramic material. Its most unique characteristic is its ability to conduct heat extremely well while being electrically insulating - a rare combination. Typically, metals like aluminum or gold conduct both heat and electricity well, while materials like rubber and plastic conduct neither effectively.
This aluminum nitride material was discovered in Professor Ujihara's laboratory at Nagoya University and showed potential for solving heat dissipation problems in electronic components. We're currently developing various electronic components using this material.
Potential applications range from consumer devices like computers to EVs and data center servers. Heat dissipation has become particularly crucial in data centers processing AI workloads. Conventional electronic devices tend to use plastic circuit boards with cases that trap heat, which leads towards performance degradation and failures. Our technology aims to solve these issues.
Could you elaborate on your technology and product features?
Our products incorporate aluminum nitride fibers into resins and ceramics. The key isn't just the presence of these fibers, but how they form networks that create pathways for heat conduction. When these fibers connect, they form efficient thermal conduction paths.
One notable application is a NVIDIA's GPU chip, which currently generates about 1000W of heat (equivalent to a household hot plate), with the potential increase of up to 3000W in the future. Efficiently dissipating this enormous heat is a major challenge.
Current solutions rely on external cooling fans, which consume additional power. Our technology reduces heat barriers, enabling smoother heat dissipation. As the demand for electrical devices increases, solving this heat problem has significant social implications, which drives our development efforts.
What are the major challenges in solving energy problems, and how does your solution address them?
One challenge is that traditionally, good heat conductors also conduct electricity, making it difficult to achieve both insulation and thermal conductivity. While our material creates networks within resins to achieve both properties efficiently, we believe there's still room for improvement. There's no end point in this pursuit - the more heat we can dissipate, the better, so continuing technological development is crucial.
Also having a good product isn't enough - we need consistent quality for adoption. Product results that show 1 out of 10 performed exceptionally well won't be accepted for servers or automotive applications. Achieving consistent performance in mass production is another challenge. As this is a new material without an established quality evaluation system, we must create our own rules to guarantee stable heat dissipation performance.
Additionally, with materials, even if we improve thermal conductivity from 2 to 10, the actual heat dissipation effectiveness can vary. Much depends on practical implementation and server environments. Therefore, thorough evaluation in the actual implementation is essential.
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Could you share your development plans for heat management and evaluation methods?
Quantitatively demonstrating the actual effects of heat management and material evaluation could significantly impact users' lives. Material evaluation is challenging - similar to how flour in food production varies in performance based not just on composition but also on usage and preparation methods. Therefore, comprehensive evaluation including usage methods, not just material properties is vitally crucial.
Looking ahead, we plan to start mass production at our new factory in Seto City next year. Our first priority is establishing stable production systems while advancing demonstration experiments. The Market's needs are highly segmented - for example, in the automotive sector, requirements differ between compact cars and sports cars. For heat dissipation materials, fitting to individual customer needs is crucial. Currently, both customers and providers are exploring optimal solutions together, as clear choices aren't yet established.
Could you tell us about your future vision and the progress of your demonstration experiments?
Maximizing heat dissipation effects requires a system-wide design, including cooling equipment like fans, not just materials. Looking further ahead, we're considering effective use of waste heat. Currently, data centers consume about 2% of Japan's electricity, with an expected increase due to AI proliferation.
For demonstration experiments, we've begun collaborations with LED manufacturers, automotive companies and electric kickboard manufacturers. The demand extends beyond Nagoya to the Kanto region and Taiwan, showing global reach.
What benefits have you found in establishing a startup in Nagoya?
Nagoya offers an abundance of research and development subsidies as well as being particularly valuable for acquiring expensive evaluation equipment needed in materials development. Even desktop equipment can cost around 10 million yen, but Aichi Prefecture's subsidies are larger than other regions, providing significant support for startups. When initial funding might only be several hundred million to about tens of millions of yen, that additional tens of millions in subsidies significantly contributes towards the business development.
What are your thoughts on Japan's materials industry and its global challenges?
Japan's support system appears very robust. For comparison, while many companies emerge in China, many also fail due to intense competition. Japan has various scales of subsidies structured to support technological development.
However, a major difference from overseas is their decision-making speed. For example, foreign investment decisions might take around two weeks, while similar-scale investments here in Japan could take around six months. This difference in decision-making speed poses challenges in global competition.
Could you discuss Nagoya's market environment and its benefits for manufacturing companies?
Nagoya provides an ideal environment for high-quality materials development. The high concentration of ceramics manufacturers and automotive companies makes it easier to recruit reliable engineers. The region has accumulated sophisticated technical capabilities, including subtle, less visible technologies. For materials development, Japan's market characteristics emphasizing quality stability and proper rule establishment are significant advantages.
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How do you view domestic and international markets for future business development?
Japan is ideal for manufacturing bases, with reliable equipment manufacturers and comprehensive subsidy systems. However, since the global market is overwhelmingly larger, particularly in electronics, we plan to maintain manufacturing in Japan while focusing on overseas sales. We need to maintain a global perspective, particularly when regarding the decision-making speed, as we expand our business.
What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs and foreigners considering starting businesses in Japan?
Startup success requires cooperation from many people. In our experience, lawyers, ceramics manufacturers, and others have supported us purely beyond business considerations. This broad cooperation network forms an important foundation for stable business continuity.
It is particularly important to have a sincere approach to social challenges. I consider the commitment to addressing heat dissipation as a social issue, rather than just pursuing sales. This will always be a key benefactor for attracting supporters. While 'deep tech' is currently trending, I believe it's important to focus on 'deep issues' as well as technology.
Similar to how everyone gives their support to high school students doing their best in competitions, having strong convictions about 'what you want to achieve' and 'what problems you want to solve' can be powerful motivators. While technical foundations are important, I believe a sincere commitment to addressing challenges is even more crucial for entrepreneurship in Japan.
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Editor's Note
U-MAP continues to make steady progress as a startup in the deep tech field of materials development. Nishitani's approach of "focusing on both technology and problem awareness" seems to indicate a direction for the future of the Japanese manufacturing industry. There are high expectations for the company's future developments and combining advanced technology, nurtured in Nagoya with a global perspective.
U-MAP : https://umap-corp.com/en/
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