AQUAPLANTA Expands Research Laboratories, Focusing on "Applied and Developmental Science" and "Basic Science"

AQUAPLANTA Inc. (Headquarters: Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama; CEO: Jongmyung Kim) announces that it has expanded its research laboratories on June 3, 2026.

The laboratories have been expanded from one room to two, establishing the "Applied and Developmental Science Laboratory" and the "Basic Science Laboratory."

Our first research base was established shortly after the company's founding in a room at our former headquarters in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo. Following the establishment of a research annex on the Suzukakedai Campus of Tokyo Institute of Technology, we relocated to our current base in Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama in 2025. With this expansion, the total floor area of the laboratories is approximately 200 square meters, a fourfold increase compared to the time of our founding.

Entrance to the Basic Science Laboratory

We are strengthening our recruitment of researchers, increasing our team from three people at the time of the research base's establishment to seven currently. To accommodate the expansion of our research system, the increase in research themes, and the addition of research equipment, we have expanded our research base to further improve our research and development environment.

In the future, in addition to experiments using "Skeepon," an agricultural material that enhances plant resistance to high temperatures and drought stress, we will further promote epigenetics research, which is the core of our technology. We aim to contribute to the realization of sustainable agriculture under climate change by socially implementing knowledge gained from basic research into technologies and products that can be utilized in agricultural fields, and widely returning the results.

The locations of each laboratory are as follows:

Applied and Developmental Science Laboratory: Leading Venture Plaza Building 1, Room 204, 75-1 Ono-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture

Basic Science Laboratory: Yokohama City Industry-Academia Collaboration Center, Research Building, Room 204, 1-1-40 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture

About AQUAPLANTA Inc.

Founded by CEO Jongmyung Kim, who was a researcher at RIKEN, AQUAPLANTA is an agri-bio startup that developed "Skeepon," an agricultural material utilizing the action of acetic acid to enhance plant resistance to high temperatures and drought, published in "Nature Plants" in 2017. Against the backdrop of climate change and the growing demand for reduced pesticides and chemical fertilizers, we are conducting demonstration experiments on high temperature and drought countermeasures using Skeepon in 14 countries, including the United States and Uganda.

In Japan, we sell products through JAs nationwide and are conducting demonstration experiments with agricultural experiment stations and extension offices in various prefectures such as Gunma, Aichi, Wakayama, and Mie, as well as farmers, agricultural groups, and companies across the country. We have received numerous awards, including the Grand Prize at the 6th AgriTech Grand Prix, the Excellence Award at the 1st JA Accelerator, the Grand Prize for Business Concept at AgriFood SBIR Pitch 2023, and the Nikkei Award at the "Super DX Summit Impact Pitch" hosted by Nikkei Inc.

About Skeepon

Skeepon is an agricultural material that utilizes the action of acetic acid (the main component of vinegar). By enhancing plant resistance to drought and high temperatures through the action of acetic acid, it helps maintain yield and quality, and conserve water.

Company Overview

Company Name: AQUAPLANTA Inc.

Representative: Jongmyung Kim, Representative Director and CEO

Headquarters: Leading Venture Plaza Building 1, Room 503, 75-1 Ono-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture Applied and Developmental Science Laboratory: Leading Venture Plaza Building 1, Room 204, 75-1 Ono-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture

Basic Science Laboratory: Yokohama City Industry-Academia Collaboration Center, Research Building, Room 204, 1-1-40 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture

Business Activities: Research and development, and sales of agricultural materials; research and development related to plant environmental stress tolerance.