From 30 January to 3 February 2023, the EU Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation organised a Cluster SME mission to Japan in the field of nanotechnology. Japanese companies hold a high market share in areas such as functional films, coatings, batteries and semiconductor materials and are permanently searching for advanced technologies in these areas. In addition, medical nanotech applications generate high interest. 
Seven European companies and two cluster organisations had been selected for the 4-day programme in Tokyo, which started with a networking event on the first day, followed by three days of joint exhibition at nano tech 2023, the world's largest industrial fair for nanotechnologies.  
The joint booth prepared by the EU-Japan Centre included a small display space for every participant with a poster translated into Japanese. The Centre’s bilingual staff and two interpreters were present to assist in the communication with Japanese visitors at the stand and in business meetings.
The participants were satisfied with the results of this first physical nanotech mission participation after a 3-year break due to COVID-related travel restrictions.

“We showcased the Czech Republic as one of the world's largest producers of nanofibers and a pioneer in industrial nanotechnology applications," says Jiří Kůs, Chairman of the Association of the Czech Nanotechnology Industry and participant in this year’s programme. “We confirmed that the Japanese market is very interesting for Czech products, particularly in the areas of cosmetics and health protection, even though it requires a long-term commitment.”

Learn more about the Centre’s nanotech mission. 

Not only nanotech!
The next Cluster SME Mission organized by the EU-Japan Centre will be held in October this year in the field of Pharma and Biotechnology. Application period starting soon.

Testimonials

By Dr. Thomas R. Dietrich, CEO, IVAM, Germany  

“IVAM is an association of micro and nano technology companies. Our goal for visiting the nano tech 2023 expo was to find out if it makes sense for our member companies to exhibit there themselves in the next years. In my opinion, this fair is a perfect opportunity to present nanotech products to an international audience. The focus subjects include e.g. production technologies for nano structures, surface modification technologies, nano metrology and other analytics, material science and quantum technologies. All these technologies are important to our member companies.
The EU-Japan Centre was very helpful in organizing the presentation at the joint pavilion. We could focus on business meetings, since everything else was perfectly organized by the EU-Japan Centre team. Thank you very much for this!    
Besides the nano tech 2023 expo participation, IVAM plans to organize different conferences and B2B-matching meetings between Japanese and European SMEs in the forthcoming months.
For companies who want to go to one of the next nano tech expos: be sure to pre-organize meetings with other exhibitors or potential Japanese partners. If you are new to Japan and have no contacts yet, use the help of organizations like the EU-Japan Centre, your national Chambers of Commerce, or associations like IVAM.”
 

Published: April 2023