Toyota Boshoku Corp. (TYO:3116) is exploring applications for a plastic alloy with some of the best impact strength in the world. The material was developed in collaboration with Toyota Central R&D Labs Inc. Toyota Boshoku is marketing the plastic alloy as an impact strength material to dramatically improve the shock resistance of polypropylene (PP). The...
Materials
JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy to Produce Carbon Material for LiB Negative Electrodes
JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. has established a domestic facility to produce carbon material for lithium-ion secondary battery (LiB) negative electrodes. The company has succeeded in developing a coke series of graphite material with superior, low-temperature properties that has been adopted for use in automotive LiBs in China. The new facility will be located...
Kaneka to Expand Mobility Business With Focus on Epoxy Masterbatches
Kaneka Corp. (TYO:4118) plans to expand its footprint in the business field of mobility, encompassing aviation and aerospace. Specifically, the company will focus on thermosetting epoxy resin masterbatches, which increase the toughness of carbon-fiber composites. Following on from its decision to acquire Applied Poleramic Inc., a U.S. company engaged in formulated resins used in composites,...
Hitachi Accelerates Pace of Development with Materials Informatics
Hitachi Ltd. (TYO:6501) is digitizing materials development. The company is focused on materials informatics (MI) to estimate and simulate material compositions that perform functions for applications in big data and computing power. As shorter product life cycles have resulted from intensified competition, 10-year R&D projects are no longer possible. To keep pace, Hitachi plans to...
IHS: Non-Triacetate Film to Take Lion’s Share of LCD Protector Market by 2021
A change is taking place in the market for liquid crystal display (LCD) polarizing film. While triacetate (TAC) has typically been used to protect the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in these panels, the adoption of acrylic, cycloolefin polymer (COP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films has become widespread – not only with the development of large, high-definition...
Toray to Build New LiB Separator Factory in Europe
Toray Industries Inc. (TYO:3402) plans to triple its current production capacity of separator membranes for secondary lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) to about 2 billion square meters, building a new factory in Europe by 2020. The production expansion comes in anticipation of rapidly intensifying electric vehicle (EV) demand, and is expected to require an investment of 120...
Toray Engineering to Enter Market for CFRP Automotive Part Molding Machines
Toray Engineering Co. Ltd. has announced that it will begin dealing with molding machines for carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) automotive parts. The company plans to achieve this goal by funding a leading German enterprise in the CFRP field, and aims to complete the contract this year so that business can begin in 2018. With...
Nikon Focuses Lithography Business on Large, High-Resolution LCD Screens
Nikon Corp. (TYO:7731) has decided on a new its direction for its production of liquid crystal panel (LCD) lithography machines. Previously, the company focused on machines that made small to medium screens for smartphones. Now, however, it has shifted its focus to larger sizes, intended for manufacturing televisions. The change is driven by heavy investments...
Hengrui and Fraunhofer ICT to Build CFRP Tech Hub in China
Shanghai-based Hengrui Corp. will establish an advanced composite technology center (ACTC) in the Changshu National New & Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone (CNZ), located in Changshu, Jiangsu Province. This new operation will be established in collaboration with Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) and enable R&D for carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), which contributes to...
Fuji Chimera: Global Additive and Filler Market to Reach 3.5 Trillion Yen by 2020
Fuji Chimera Research Institute Inc. has released a market research report on the additives and fillers used to enhance resin performance and add functional properties. The institute projects the global market to grow to approximately 3.5 trillion yen ($31.46 billion) by 2020, a rise of 22.8 percent on the 2016 level. Driving market expansion are...
Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical to Double Acrylonitrile Capacity to 520,000 Tons
Shenghong Holding Group subsidiary Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Co. Ltd. has begun formulating the second phase of its petrification base. Although the company will now be scooting over to raw material procurement and product configuration, it has decided to construct an additional 260,000-ton facility for acrylonitrile (AN). The plan is to get this launched by as...
Asahi Kasei to Upgrade S-SBR Plant in Singapore
Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407) has formally decided to increase production capacity at its solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) plant in Singapore. Approximately 5 billion yen ($44.78 million) are expected to be invested in the upgrade, which will boost annual production capacity from the current 100,000 tons to 130,000 tons by January 2019, when the new facilities...
Riken Synthesizes High Molecular Weight Polar Polyolefins With Rare Earth Metal Catalyst
A research group from Riken, the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, has developed a copolymerization technology that efficiently incorporates polar groups into polyolefins. High molecular weight polar polyolefins can be synthesized using a rare earth metal catalyst to copolymerize alpha-olefin (polar monomer) and ethylene (nonpolar monomer) in an arbitrary mixing ratio. Ordinary polyolefins do...
China Sees Flurry of New CPL Facilities Come Online
A series of new caprolactam (CPL) facilities have been popping up in China. Shanxi Lubao Coking Group Co. Ltd. this year has brought online a new facility with a total annual capacity of 100,000 tons in the company’s home province of Shanxi. The production is characterized by a process of obtaining benzene from coal, which...
Gifu Plastic to Target Teccell Honeycomb Core Material to Aviation and Other Industries
Gifu Plastic Industry Co. Ltd. is working to apply its Teccell lightweight, high-strength resin honeycomb core material to aircraft. The company revealed it has been conducting joint research for several years with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and IHI Corp. (TYO:7013) on using the porous Saint honeycomb silencer on aircraft engines. Saint uses Teccell...
Henkel Opens Composite Technology Center in Yokohama
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA plans to expand its automotive composites business in Asia. As part of its strategy, the firm has opened a technical support center for composite parts made from carbon and glass fiber at its Asia Pacific Technical Center in Isogo-ku Ward, Yokohama. Henkel opened its first Composite Lab in Heidelberg, Germany,...
Nippon Paper Aims to Mass-Produce World’s First CNF-Reinforced Automotive Resins
Nippon Paper Industries Co. Ltd. (TYO:3863) is moving forward with plans to commercialize resins reinforced with cellulose nanofiber (CNF) for automotive applications. The firm has invested a total of 300 million yen ($2.67 million) in a demonstration facility that recently went into operation in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture. The facility has the capacity to produce more...
Asahi Kasei to Increase Chinese Production Capacity of Engineering Plastics With Factory Move
Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407) will construct a new plant for engineering plastics in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, China. Operations will be moved from the company’s current factory in Shuzou, another city in Jiangsu Province, with the new factory expected for completion in early 2019. As part of the move, production capacity will be increased by 50...
Hitachi Chemical Develops World’s First Resin Injection Foam-Molding Technology for Automotive Exterior Parts
Hitachi Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4217) has developed the world’s first resin injection foam-molding technology for automotive exterior parts. The technology enables the production of attractive, lightweight material that maintains the rigidity of conventional exterior resin parts. A number of Japanese automakers have already decided to use the technology for their new models. Hitachi Chemical was...
China’s Kangde Group, BAIC Partner to Build Local Carbon Fiber Plant
Kangde Group, a maker of optical films and carbon fiber based in China’s Jiangsu Province, has formed a strategic partnership with major automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. Ltd. (BAIC) and the municipal government of Changzhou in Jiangsu. The three entities will work together to establish a carbon fiber production base. The partnership will see...
