SeatecHIROSHIMA Ltd. 
About
Technology that takes the trouble out of working at sea.
SeatecHIROSHIMA was founded in 2021 in Kure, Hiroshima. With technology that treats the surface of materials, we take on problems people face at sea: fouled ships and fishing nets, shrinking seagrass beds, and collisions with rafts floating offshore.
Our Story
It started with barnacles on an oyster raft.
Our co-representative, Michio Imai, was working to connect people with disabilities with jobs in farming and fishing when a visit to a Hiroshima oyster farm showed oysters buried under barnacles. At the time, there was nothing to be done about it. In 2020, the “Shido Next Innovator” program run by METI and JETRO brought Imai together with Hayato Chishaki and Masahiko Mori, and the three began looking for a way to stop marine life settling in the first place rather than scraping it off afterwards. The answer turned out to be the surface-treatment technology of Kensuke Kuroda (Representative, Nagoya Surface Technology; Specially Appointed Professor, Institute of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University).
Vision, mission and principle
- Vision
- To connect people and the ocean around the world through technology, and build a sustainable marine industry.
- Mission
- To solve the inconvenience, disadvantage and inefficiency in the marine industry with technology.
- Principle
- To put what is right before profit, and to act with compassion for others.
Company facts
- Company name
- SeatecHIROSHIMA Ltd.
- Japanese name
- 株式会社シーテックヒロシマ
- Founded
- June 2021
- Head office
- Kure Support Core Room 9, 2-10-1 Aga-minami, Kure, Hiroshima 737-0004, Japan
- Development site
- Marine Craft Kazenoko, 2nd factory (Kure, Hiroshima)
- Corporate number
- 9240001058063
- Officers
- Representative Director, COO: Hayato Chishaki
Co-Representative, CEO: Michio Imai
Director, CMO: Masahiko Mori - Business
- Research and development of antifouling by surface modification, and licensing of its performance
Eelgrass bed restoration and ocean data research - Technical supervision
- Kensuke Kuroda
Representative, Nagoya Surface Technology
Specially Appointed Professor, Institute of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University (2020–)
Supervises the technology in a personal capacity
Track record
- Jun 2021
- Founded SeatecHIROSHIMA Ltd.
- 2022
- Selected for the JETRO SCAP Global Preparation Course
- 2022
- Selected for the Hiroshima Global Unicorn Incubator Advanced Program
- 2022
- Selected for HIROSHIMA UNICORN 10 STARTUP ACCELERATION (Hiroshima Prefecture)
- 2023
- Sta★rt-up Pitch Japan (5th): reached the final
- 2023
- X-Tech Innovation 2023, Kyushu: Special Jury Prize, StarFlyer Prize and EY ShinNihon Prize
- Oct 2024
- Shenzhen Innovation Pitch 2024: selected for the main round
- Dec 2024
- MITANI Business Contest 2024: DEFTA Partners Prize and Business Engineering Prize
- 2025
- SIH International Business Contest 2025: Grand Prix
- 2025
- Leave a Nest Marine Tech Grand Prix 2025: finalist
- May 2025
- Moved our development site to Marine Craft Kazenoko’s 2nd factory
- 2025
- Spoke at Kure Marine Expo 2025
- Sep 2025
- Selected for the FY2025 Noto Startup Attraction Survey Project
- Oct 2025
- Joined Hiroshima University’s JST COI-NEXT centre for a marine cultural city built on ocean remote-sensing technology, as one consortium company
- Nov 2025
- Mirai Works Booster 2025: Okumura Corporation Prize
- Nov 2025
- Appeared on BS11 “NEXT company”
- Feb 2026
- Selected for the Nature Governance Startup Program, part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s TOKYO SUTEAM
- Mar 2026
- Signed the Town & Gown joint research contract (Kure City and Hiroshima University) with Hiroshima University, Marine Craft Kazenoko and Inet Co., Ltd.
- 2026
- Spoke at Kure Marine Expo 2026
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