News release
Oct 17,2024
EF Polymer Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Okinawa/ Founder and CEO: Narayan Lal Gharjar; hereinafter “EF Polymer”), which develops 100% organic superabsorbent polymers, announced that it has implemented a capital and business alliance with Suzuyo Corporation (Headquarters: Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka-ken; President and CEO: Masahiko Ito; hereafter, Suzuyo Corporation), and has also raised funds using convertible bonds. EF Polymer and Suzuyo Shoji will work on joint development of new agricultural materials in the future, starting with application development and market development for agricultural products in Japan.
EF Polymer stands for Eco-Friendly Polymer and is a 100% organic super absorbent polymer born from orange and banana peels. It has the characteristics of being completely organic and completely biodegradable, and contributes to the development of environmentally friendly products as a raw material for ice packs, daily necessities, and cosmetics, starting with support for producers' problem solving.
Suzuyo Shoji operates a methane fermentation biomass plant using school lunches and other food residues in the city in Kikugawa-shi, Shizuoka prefecture, and has begun efforts to return fermentation residue discharged from the plant to local agriculture as fertilizer, and has an agricultural corporation “Bell Farm Co., Ltd. (Kikugawa-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture)” which produces tomatoes and asparagus as an affiliated company, and is working on large-scale farm production of tomatoes and asparagus.
Through this partnership, the two companies will work to develop applications and demand for “EF polymers,” and develop sales channels for the company's products. EF Polymer aims to revitalize activities aimed at popularizing environmentally friendly polymers and develop new products applying EF polymers by utilizing Suzuyo Shoji's strong network and business infrastructure and conducting demonstration tests with agricultural corporations affiliated with Suzuyo Shoji.
The priority areas that both companies will work on in the future are as follows.
■ Development of “EF polymers” for agricultural applications
Utilizing the characteristics of being 100% organic and having excellent water absorption, we will proceed with sales activities aimed at maintaining and improving yield by increasing water retention, increasing fertilizer holding capacity, and promoting granule structure for large-scale open field cultivators with issues with soil drying in Japan.
■ Product development of cosmetics and ice packs using “EF polymers” as raw materials
Conventionally, in the cosmetics and ice pack industry, where petroleum-derived super-absorbent polymers have been the mainstream, we will advance the development of products with completely biodegradable characteristics and market development for environmentally friendly product development.
■ Joint development of “EF polymers” for fertilizer applications
By adding water and fertilizer retention functions to fermentation residue generated in the biogas business (biogas power generation using food residue), which Suzuyo Shoji is working on, and making it into a gel and slurry, we will proceed with development aimed at practical application as fertilizer.
■Joint development for the use of cocopete (coconut shell medium)
Utilizing EF Polymer's strong agricultural network in India, we will carry out test cultivation for practical application on the farmland of Bell Farm Co., Ltd. owned by Suzuyo Shoji in order to begin importing and selling 100% organic and high water retention cocopete for agricultural use, which is attracting attention as a substitute for peat moss medium whose use has been prohibited/reduced worldwide.
Narayan Ghaljal, founder and CEO of EF PolymersIt is stated as follows. “This capital and business alliance with Suzuyo Shoji is an important milestone that accelerates the spread of our unique technology in Japan, which is the home market for EF Polymers, and supports our growth as a company. In order to achieve the major goal of solving environmental issues, it is essential to cooperate with people who have the same goals. We will continue to sympathize with EF Polymer's concept, and we will continue to contribute to creating a sustainable society together with our partners who co-create the future.”
About Series B funding
EF Polymer plans to raise funds for the Series B round next spring to strengthen product development for agricultural materials, research and development in the fields of daily necessities and cosmetics, and to expand sales in overseas markets. In particular, we are looking for domestic and international investors and partners who can support regional business promotion centered on the United States and Europe, which are strategic regions.
About Suzuyo Shoji
In addition to supplying energy such as oil, gas, and electricity, Suzuyo Corporation provides products and services that contribute to customer decarbonization, such as solar power generation, storage batteries, and CO2 visualization services. In addition, we are developing various products and services as a general trading company, such as construction materials, chemicals, and solutions to support labor saving/automation at manufacturing sites and digitalization of business within offices.
In the agricultural sector, we operate 18 houses at Bell Farm Co., Ltd., which is an affiliated company, and produce and sell tomatoes and asparagus.https://www.suzuyoshoji.co.jp/
About EF Polymer
EF Polymer Co., Ltd. is a deep tech startup born in India and raised in Okinawa. Residues that have been discarded conventionally, such as orange and banana peels, are upcycled, and “EF Polymer,” a 100% organic super absorbent polymer, is manufactured and sold as agricultural materials. We also support corporate green transformation (GX) by promoting the application of fully organic polymers as raw materials for daily necessities, cosmetics, and medical products. Through the dissemination of our technology, we aim to solve environmental problems centered on water scarcity.https://ja.efpolymer.com/
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