Canatu to build new production facility in Finland, new agreement with DENSO
The decision to expand is driven by the company’s long-term growth plans.
Canatu is expanding with a new facility next to its current headquarters and factory in Vantaa, Finland. The company has signed a 70-month lease for a facility at Tiilitie 6, Vantaa, and extended the lease for its current headquarters and factory at Tiilenlyöjänkuja 9A, Vantaa, for an additional six years.
According to a company statement, the decision to expand is driven by the need for more space to accommodate the company’s long-term growth plans. The new facility will provide the required additional capacity to support the development and production of potential new customer reactors, next reactor generations and a medical diagnostics laboratory. It will also provide much-needed office space, as the current headquarters have reached full capacity in this respect. Canatu expects that reaching the long-term financial targets in 2027 may require to grow the headcount by 25 to 35 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) annually.
Establishing a "Nano Valley" in Finland
"Canatu has grown strongly in recent years and aims for over €100 million in revenue in 2027. This new facility is a key enabler of Canatu’s long-term growth plans," says Juha Kokkonen, CEO of Canatu. The new factory and office facility spans over 3,000 m². The combined production and office space will nearly double in size.
"Finland is an attractive location for expansion due to its low electricity costs – among the lowest in Europe –, reliable infrastructure, and the availability of skilled workforce. Canatu has successfully attracted operators and maintenance workers to support its growing needs. This marks another step towards establishing a 'Nano Valley' in Finland," Kokkonen continues.
The close proximity of the two sites, within walking distance of each other, offers several advantages. Both facilities will share manufacturing, facility management, maintenance and logistics resources, eliminating duplication and reducing costs. With the new facility located next to the current site, teams can easily move between the headquarters and factories, minimizing travel time and ensuring seamless collaboration. Moreover, the second factory will help meet redundancy requirements for Canatu’s customers and address the company’s operational risks, ensuring for its part business continuity.
Agreement with DENSO to improve carbon nanotube performance
According to Canatu's latest statement, the company has signed a one-year joint development agrement with DENSO Corporation, a leading supplier of automotive technology and components, to improve the performance of Canatu carbon nanotubes (CNTs).
The value of the agreement falls within the upper quartile of the "medium" category (from €1 million to €5 million) outlined in Canatu’s disclosure policy, with corresponding revenue expected to be recognised over the one-year term of the agreement between April 2025 and March 2026. Canatu sees that the joint development programme has significant potential for future commercialisation opportunities. Such future opportunities depend, however, on the outcome of the joint development programme and would only be expected to be realised over a longer period of time.
The 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 cameras and full windshield heaters. The purpose of this joint development agreement is to optimise 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.
"Advancing mobility through cutting-edge technology"
"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 us 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," said 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,” explained Juha Kokkonen, CEO of Canatu.
About Canatu
Canatu 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’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 Deposition 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 130 employees representing over 30 nationalities, with 20% holding or pursuing doctorates.
Caption: Canatu is expanding with a new facility next to its current headquarters and factory in Vantaa, Finland. (Image: Canatu)
Source: Canatu