Pale Blue received the Chairman’s Award of the Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs at the “Award for Academic Startups 2023” hosted by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), which recognizes outstanding startups that have been founded using the results of universities’ research and are expected to succeed in the future.

In addition, Yuichi Nakagawa, Co-Founder, CTO & Board Director of Pale Blue, attended the award ceremony held at Tokyo Big Sight on August 24, 2023, and introduced the company.

“We are honored to receive such a prestigious award. Pale Blue has been challenging to make space a business field”, commented Yuichi Nakagawa, Co-Founder and CTO of Pale Blue, at the ceremony. “Many people may think space is a dream, or at least something far away. There are certainly many difficulties, but space is steadily coming closer to being within human reach, with repeated failures and successes. As a provider of propulsion systems, an indispensable component of spacecraft, we will commit our best effort to show that it is absolutely possible to run a business in this field and to make it more accessible to the public. We look forward to your continued support.”

 

Reasons that Pale Blue received the award

The company’s next-generation propulsion system for small satellites uses “water” as propellant, aiming at sustainable space development. The company was awarded the Chairman’s Award of the Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs for its solid approach to product development through collaboration with external organizations, especially research institutions, and its ability to build a strong team structure, mainly composed of engineers, from the early stages of the project.

JST lists winners on their website (Japanese): https://www.jst.go.jp/aas/award.html 

 

University collaborated

Hiroyuki Koizumi, Associate Professor in the Department of Advanced Energy, Division of Transdisciplinary Sciences, Department of Advanced Energy, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo

 

About the Award for Academic Startups

The Award for Academic Startups is a governmental award system to honor outstanding university-launched startups using the results of research and development at universities and other institutions, and to commend universities and companies that have contributed to their growth. The awards have been held since 2014 with the aim of further promoting challenging efforts to start a business using the results of research and development at universities, as well as support for university-launched startups from universities, companies and other organizations.

 

About Pale Blue

Pale Blue is a space startup from the University of Tokyo founded in 2020. The company is dedicated to thrusters innovation for small satellites that use water as a propellant. Through its water-based propulsion technology, Pale Blue aims to develop a space ecosystem where in-space mobility is not only affordable but completely safe to both humans and the surrounding environment.

 

Contact

Emily Okuhara, Marketing & Communications of Pale Blue

Email: pr@pale-blue.co.jp