Japan Climate Gateway | City of Yokohama–hosted initiative | March 2026

​Japan Climate Gateway

​Host: Yokohama City, Japan · イベントカレンダー

​In collaboration with Greennex Global
PR Support: Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support

​​​Agenda

​​1. Opening & Strategic Context: (5 min)

​Speaker: Masahiro (MASA) Nishikawa, DIrector, Office of the City of Yokohama Rep. to the Americas

​​An overview of Japan's climate and energy priorities, and Yokohama's role as a gateway city for connecting global climate innovation with Japan's industrial, corporate, and investment ecosystem.

​​2. Expert Insight: Emerging Climate & Energy Technologies (20 min)

​Guest Speaker: Shaun Abrahamson, Managing Partner, Third Sphere

​Shaun seasoned climate tech investor and co-founder of Third Sphere, which is a leading Pre-Seed and Seed stage climate-focused venture fund based in Los Angeles. With a mission to help startup founders build the world beyond climate change, he oversees venture investments, founder coaching, and connecting founders to an extended network of customers, investors, and partners, with a track record of over 100 portfolio companies.

​Prior to his current role, he was an active angel investor backing more than 20 firms and 3 unicorns, with early work on climate modeling dating back to 1997. He holds advanced degrees from MIT and the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Cape Town.

​​3. Startup Showcase (20 min)

​​4 selected U.S. deep climate tech startups

​​• 5-minute pitch per company ​• Emphasis on deployment readiness, industrial relevance, and Japan market fit ​• Companies selected based on demonstrated commercial traction and global expansion readiness

​Helix Earth:

​Helix Earth is deploying NASA-developed space technology to decarbonize the built environment through breakthrough HVAC retrofit solutions and carbon capture systems. Founded by CEO Dr. Rawand Rasheed, who earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University and spent over five years at NASA Johnson Space Center as a research fellow and life support systems engineer, alongside serial entrepreneur Brad Husick, the Houston-based startup has developed a proprietary solid-state, high-efficiency droplet filtration method using helical channels and centrifugal forces originally designed for firefighting in space. For commercial air conditioning, the technology enables energy-efficient dehumidification that can reduce cooling energy consumption by more than 50% with an estimated three-year payback period, while for carbon capture, the technology reduces absorber column footprint by 6-8x compared to existing liquid amine-based systems through accelerated liquid-gas chemistry. Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy and ACHR 40 Under 40, Rasheed has led the company to raise $7.3 million in venture funding and $2.3 million in non-dilutive support from NSF and DOE, with current pilot deployments in commercial buildings and plans to expand into industrial carbon dioxide capture markets.

​Photon Marine:

​Photon Marine electrifies the commercial marine industry with high-performance electric propulsion systems and intelligent fleet management software designed for demanding workboat operations. Based in Portland, Oregon, the company develops powerful outboard motors paired state of the art vessels that help operators reduce operating costs, simplify maintenance, and eliminate emissions.　Founded in 2021 by CEO Marcelino Alvarez, a lifelong boater and entrepreneur, and CTO Nick Schoeps, an electric motorsports pioneer, Photon combines advanced electric drivetrain technology with practical maritime experience. By partnering with leading boat builders, Photon enables ports, researchers, aquaculture operators, and passenger transport providers to deploy cleaner, quieter, and more efficient vessels.

TyFast:

​TyFast is developing lithium vanadium oxide (LVO) anode technology that enables ultra-fast charging and extended cycle life for heavy-duty lithium-ion batteries targeting construction, mining, trucking, and defense applications. Founded in 2021 by CEO Dr. G.J. la O', who brings over a decade of energy storage commercialization experience from Primus Power where he helped raise $100M in venture capital, along with UC San Diego co-inventors Dr. Haodong Liu (CTO) and Professor Ping Liu (CSO), the company replaces conventional graphite anodes with domestically-sourced vanadium-based materials to achieve 10x faster charging (full charge in under 10 minutes), over 10,000 charge-discharge cycles, and enhanced cold-weather performance while maintaining 200 Wh/kg energy density. Backed by the U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E program ($2.8M award), National Science Foundation, California Energy Commission (CalSEED Prototype Award), and strategic investors including Neometals, the San Diego-based company has partnered with Taiwan's GUS Technology for GWh-scale manufacturing and is developing drop-in replacement anodes compatible with existing lithium-ion production lines, targeting diesel-competitive performance for commercial fleets and military vehicles with 100% U.S.-sourced raw materials at technology readiness level 6-7.

Birch BioSciences:

Birch BioSciences is engineering the future of plastic recycling with high-performance enzymes designed through generative AI and synthetic biology that break down plastic polymers into virgin-quality building blocks, enabling a truly circular plastic economy. Founded in Portland in 2021 by Johan Kers (15 years at Absci and Ginkgo Bioworks), Dr. Emily Duncan (10+ years protein biochemistry), and Dr. Miles Gander (AI-driven enzyme engineering expert), the Y Combinator-backed startup uses proprietary high-throughput screening and generative AI to create "molecular scissors" that depolymerize plastics like PET and polyurethane at low temperatures, producing recycled materials that match the quality of fossil fuel-derived plastics while cutting carbon emissions by over 70%. Supported by over $1M in grants from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, DARPA, and AWS, and partnering with the DOE's Agile BioFoundry on a $3M+ textile recycling project, Birch is addressing the stagnant 9% U.S. plastic recycling rate and the 7% of global carbon emissions from virgin plastic production by making enzymatic recycling economically competitive.

​4. Investor & Industry Q&A (5 min)

​5. Closing & Next Steps (5 min) | Greennex Global

​​Speaker: Stella Song, Founder of Greennex Global

​​Key takeaways from the session and introduction of the Climate Mentors Program, outlining structured follow-up opportunities for deeper engagement between startups and Japanese partners.