Canatu Plc Inside Information 14 April 2025 at 1:00 pm EEST
Inside information: Canatu signs joint development agreement with DENSO to improve carbon nanotube performance
Canatu Plc (CANATU, Nasdaq First North, Finland) has signed a one-year joint development agreement with DENSO Corporation, a leading supplier of automotive technology and components, to improve the performance of Canatu carbon nanotubes (Canatu CNTs).
The value of the agreement falls within the upper quartile of the "Medium" category (from 1.0M€ to 5M€) outlined in Canatu's disclosure policy, with corresponding revenue expected to be recognized over the one-year term of the agreement between April 2025 and March 2026. Canatu sees that the joint development program has significant potential for future commercialization opportunities. Such future opportunities depend, however, on the outcome of the joint development program and would only be expected to be realized over a longer period of time.
Canatu is a fast-growing deep-tech company creating advanced carbon nanotubes, CNT products, and CNT reactors for the semiconductor, automotive, and medical diagnostics industries. With its expertise in automotive solutions and commitment to carbon neutrality, DENSO drives innovation toward a sustainable mobility future. DENSO is one of Canatu's largest shareholders.
This joint development agreement builds on the earlier Memorandum of Understanding announced by Canatu in December 2024. It further strengthens the parties' long-standing collaboration to improve CNT performance, develop high-performance reactors, and advance practical applications for CNT technology, such as ADAS camera and full windshield heaters. The purpose of this joint development agreement is to optimize the sheet resistance to transmittance ratio of CNTs. By improving this ratio, Canatu and DENSO aim to achieve high electrical conductivity while maintaining excellent light transmittance, thereby enhancing performance in current applications and expanding the potential use cases of CNTs to new ones.
Carbon nanotubes, known for their unique combination of properties, including high electrical and thermal conductivity, along with exceptional optical performance, are also a promising material for a wide range of emerging applications, such as solar cells.
"DENSO is committed to advancing mobility through cutting-edge technology. Our collaboration with Canatu will accelerate the development of high-performance CNT applications and enable to explore new high-value application. By leveraging our combined expertise, we aim to drive innovation that enhances vehicle safety and supports a more sustainable future," says Hirotsugu Takeuchi, CTO of DENSO Corporation.
"We are excited about this collaboration to improve CNT performance and contribute to sustainable mobility with DENSO. This strengthens our position as a leader in developing transformative, future-proof solutions for the automotive industry with our partners. This joint development agreement is a key step in our automotive strategy, developing ADAS camera heaters and exploring new high-value applications for our advanced carbon nanotubes," says Juha Kokkonen, CEO of Canatu Plc.
Any potential revenue or profit impact from future commercialization opportunities is subject to material uncertainties, including the outcomes of the current joint development program.
Additional information:
CEO Juha Kokkonen, tel. +358 405 430 367
Board member Tuomo Vähäpassi, tuomo.vahapassi@lifeline-spac1.com
Certified Adviser
Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ), tel. +46 (0)73 856 42 65
About Canatu
Canatu (CANATU, Nasdaq First North, Finland) is a fast-growing deep technology company creating advanced carbon nanotubes (Canatu CNTs), related products, and manufacturing equipment for the semiconductor, automotive, and medical diagnostics industries. Canatu partners with forerunner companies, together transforming products for better tomorrows with nano carbon.
Canatu's versatile platform technology has broad potential applications. Its current core includes CNT membranes for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) processes in the semiconductor industry, enabling the manufacturing of the most advanced chips, as well as film heaters for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) in the automotive industry. Additionally, electrochemical sensors for medical diagnostics are in the development phase. Canatu's patented CNT reactors and Dry DepositionTM method yield clean and pristine CNTs. The company operates through two business models: selling CNT products directly, as well as selling CNT reactors and licensing the related technology so that customers can produce CNT products under a limited license.
Headquartered in Finland, Canatu also operates in the US, Japan, and Taiwan. Founded in 2004 as a spin-off from Aalto University's Nanomaterials Group, Canatu currently has around 140 employees representing over 35 nationalities, with 20 percent holding or pursuing doctorates. Discover more at www.canatu.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
About DENSO CORPORATION
Globally headquartered in Kariya, Japan, DENSO is a $47.2 billion leading mobility supplier that develops advanced technology and components for nearly every vehicle make and model on the road today. With manufacturing at its core, DENSO invests in around 180 facilities worldwide to provide opportunities for rewarding careers and to produce cutting-edge electrification, powertrain, thermal and mobility electronics products, among others, that change how the world moves. In developing such solutions, the company's 162,000 global employees are paving the way to a mobility future that improves lives, eliminates traffic accidents, and preserves the environment. DENSO spent around 7.7 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. For more information about DENSO's operations worldwide, visit https://www.denso.com/global.
