Mitsubishi invests in green startup PCB maker
Mitsubishi Electric’s ME Innovation Fund has invested in startup printed circuit board maker Elephantech Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) as part of a 900 million yen (about US$6.67 million) funding round.
Elephantech mass produces printed circuit boards (PCBs) using metal inkjet printing. The company was founded in 2014 as AgIC Inc. before changing its name in 2017. It has developed technologies that reduce the consumption of water, chemical and energy resources during the manufacturing of PCBs.
With this third-party allotment of shares in the company, Elephantech has raised approximately 9 billion yen in total (about US$67 million) including equity, debt, and subsidies.
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Elephantech is coming to market with a mission in eco-friendly and sustainable manufacturing and it uses its metal inkjet printing and copper plating technologies to manufacture and sell P-Flex flexible PCBs. Its manufacturing method is called Pure Additive.
Conventional PCB manufacturing is a subtractive methods that generates considerable waste. A copper foil is laminated across an entire substrate and then removed to form a circuit, requiring large amounts of water. Elephantec’s additive metal inkjet printing technology allows metal to be printed on a substrate only where necessary.
Mitsubishi said it plans to work with Elephantech to promote metal inkjet printing technology and explore sustainable manufacturing with consideration for the global environment.
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