Presenters Name: Yusuke Fujine
Employment Title: Chief Manager
Company: NTT Advanced Technology Corp
Biography: Yusuke Fujine serves as Chief Manager at NTT ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION since 2018. His primary responsibilities include the development and commercialization of functional coatings. Prior to assuming this role, he is engaged in the development of environmental impact assessment methodologies for ICT services, with a focus on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), beginning in 2001. Yusuke is born and raised in Japan and holds a Master of Engineering degree.
Presentation Title: Superhydrophobic coating complying with the PFAS restrictions trends
Presentation Abstract: Organic fluoride (so-called PFAS) are valued and widely used across many industries due to their chemical stability and excellent hydrophobicity. However, In recent years, concerns have grown over the long-term persistence of these substances in the natural environment and the human body, leading to the initiation of international regulatory discussions. Among them, PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS are considered highly likely to cause cancer and are banned under the POPs Convention.
NTT-AT’s HIREC is superhydrophobic coating which possesses superhydrophobicity with an initial water contact angle of 150 degrees. Due to its exceptionally high performance, HIREC has been used in numerous outdoor facilities worldwide. Importantly conventional HIREC does not contain those banned substances such as PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS.
In response to evolving regulations and growing market demand for environmentally responsible materials, NTT-AT has closely monitored market trends and proactively pursued the development of a PFAS-free HIREC.
In October 2025, NTT-AT announced an advanced version of HIREC that is entirely PFAS-free and added to our product lineup.
This newly developed coating achieves superhydrophobic performance equivalent to that of the conventional product, maintaining an initial water contact angle exceeding 150°, while being environmentally friendly and safe for human health. In addition, the new formulation exhibits improved light transmittance compared with conventional HIREC coatings, thereby expanding its potential range of applications.
