Topics on Research and Development

To focus further on open innovation with other companies, government organizations, academic institutions, and start-ups, which is driven by the Technology Unit, we have assigned our staff members in charge of planning to work in a co-working space of Cambridge Innovation Center Tokyo (CIC Tokyo, https://jp.cic.com/). (Two staff members from R&D Planning Division have been working there since September 2022.)
At CIC Tokyo, horizontal connections are made actively through close exchange of information by about 250 organizations, including companies, startups, local governments, and universities. The Nippon Kayaku Group is also building a pipeline with external organizations and a range of communities by exchanging ideas at theme-specific events and taking part in programs that match overseas startups with Japanese companies. The information we obtain is shared with staff in charge of collaborations with startups from each business unit, the Corporate Planning Division, and the Intellectual Property Division, and is used to search for business opportunities in the four target areas.

The UMI No. 3 Fund, managed by Universal Materials Incubator Corporation (“UMI”, https://www.umi.co.jp/), was established with the vision of strengthening Japan՚s technological capabilities and fostering a world-class industrial structure through the development of superior materials and chemical companies. We provide appropriate risk money and management support for the stages from development to establishment of production technologies in such industrial fields as environment and energy, food and agriculture, life science, electronics and information, and mobility. In the mass production stage, we coordinate active collaboration between ventures and companies.
The Nippon Kayaku Group invested in December 2022 to support companies in the investment area of the UMI No. 3 Fund. We also intend to use information on startup companies for investors and to actively interact with them to introduce the basic technologies needed for research and development.

The AZUL catalyst, a subject of the R&D initiatives of AZUL Energy Inc. (https://www.azul-energy.co.jp/), has an organic dye structure in its active center and exhibits higher activity than the platinum-based catalysts conventionally used in fuel cells. This material also boasts superior cost, performance, durability, and other properties. Focusing on this advantage, the Nippon Kayaku Group began joint development of a catalyst production method in 2021 and has formed a capital alliance as part of its efforts to strengthen the relationship. The joint development, which combines the Group՚s expertise in precise organic synthesis and material dispersion with AZUL Energy՚s catalyst technologies, has advanced to the stage where we can implement pilot production. In 2023. we signed a business alliance agreement for closer collaboration and cooperation. It is expected that in the future we will be able to provide AZUL catalyst manufactured on a pilot scale to customers dealing with next-generation energy devices such as metal-air batteries and fuel cells. We will also focus our efforts on initiatives to pioneer new applications.