This partnership resulted from a reverse pitch event in London, where 10 UK scaleups competed to address Shimizu’s ‘net zero building’ challenge. The event was organised by the UK-APAC Tech Growth Programme, which supports high-growth tech companies in exploring and securing commercial opportunities in the APAC region.

Shimizu's representatives began the event by outlining their 'Vision of 2030' sustainable business strategy and their intent to collaborate with UK tech companies. Each of the 10 selected companies, prominent in sustainability tech, presented their solutions to support Shimizu’s vision and participated in a Q&A session.

SEaB Energy was chosen as the winner due to its innovative, compact anaerobic digestion systems, housed in shipping containers, which are easy to install and already deployed globally through direct installations and distribution and licensing agreements.

Sandra Sassow, SEaB Energy’s CEO, said: “We’re thrilled that Shimizu recognised the value creation opportunity of using sustainable energy and reducing CO2 emissions via our waste-to-energy technology. Our various sized platforms and the significant reduction in emissions they deliver will help Shimizu win new construction orders and further promote the use of electricity derived from renewable energy sources. This aligns with the corporation’s ‘Vision of 2030’ to realise a sustainable society."

Shimizu has also invited three of the other participating companies to progress commercial discussions. They are:

• Faradai: a supplier of AI-based systems for energy and emissions tracking
• Low Carbon Materials: a climate-tech company that develops product innovations for the decarbonisation of emission-intensive construction materials such as concrete and asphalt
• re:sustain: a supplier of an energy optimisation technology that works with any building management system and uses calibrated digital twins to deliver scalable carbon and energy cost savings for commercial buildings.

Daisuke Kato, Head of the Acceleration Group at Shimizu’s NOVARE facility, said: “Our focus on sustainability is strong, especially in Southeast Asia where we have a long history in construction. We were therefore delighted explore the solutions on offer in the UK-APAC Tech Growth Programme’s reverse pitch.

“The event was incredibly insightful and we were impressed by the advanced technologies and expertise showcased by the UK companies in the field of net-zero buildings. They highlighted that UK sustainability efforts are a few steps ahead of Japan, which is valuable knowledge as we strive to close the gap in APAC. It was inspiring to see so many UK tech companies aligned with our goals for a sustainable future in Asia Pacific.”

Dr Lian Hutchings, Head of Growth at Low Carbon Materials, said: "It was an honour to be selected to present our net zero construction solutions to Shimizu. As a climate tech startup with ambitions to expand into new geographical markets, including the APAC region, we very much look forward to continuing our discussions with the corporation.”

The UK-APAC Tech Growth Programme provides free and subsidised support to technology companies aspiring to enter one or more of 11 markets: South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. It is delivered on behalf of the government by international business development consultancy Intralink.

Jeremy Shaw, who leads UK-APAC Tech Growth Programme, said: “Initiatives such as this are just some of the ways the Programme highlights the latest UK technologies to potential customers and partners in Asia Pacific. The fact that Shimizu has decided to continue discussions not just with the winner but with three of the other participating companies is confirmation of the huge interest in UK technology.

“We congratulate SEaB and the other participants and look forward to supporting them on the next stage of their journey into the APAC region.”