Topics on Research and Development

Aiming for new products and businesses that contribute to the environment and energy field

The Group aims to create new products and businesses that solve future issues in the environment and energy field.

　In 2023, AZUL Energy Co., Ltd., with whom we have formed a close business alliance, developed AZUL catalyst, which 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 competitiveness, performance, durability, and other properties. The Nippon Kayaku Group is responsible for pilot production, taking advantage of its expertise in precise organic synthesis and material dispersion, and has begun providing samples to customers dealing with next-generation energy devices such as air batteries, water electrolysis for hydrogen production, and fuel cell applications.

　In addition, to realize a hydrogen energy society, we are participating in a consortium for the development of water electrolysis technology centered on the Yamaguchi ･ Kuroki Laboratory of the Institute of Science Tokyo, with the aim of developing a water electrolysis system that does not use precious metals such as platinum. We will contribute to the realization of a hydrogen society through the development and practical application of highly durable anion exchange membranes by utilizing our technologies cultivated in our functional materials business and Polatechno business, including the synthesis of monomers and polymers, which are the materials for membranes, their formation into films, and precision film conversion.

Development of safety device technology for Computer Aided Engineering (CAE)

In the field of the automobile industry, safety components will require even higher performance due to changes such as larger airbags and stronger assessments as the interiors of electric vehicles (EVs) expand. In addition, the early popularization and standardization of safety components to ensure public safety is one of the important items for the social implementation of next-generation mobility such as drones and flying cars.

　To quickly respond to these issues, the Group has begun considering the establishment of Computer Aided Technology (CAE) technology. CAE is a system that can predict results by conducting various simulations on a computer. It has a wide range of applications, and in the field of the automobile industry, it is being utilized for vehicle body design.

　By applying CAE to the development of safety components, we can conduct fluid calculations related to the gas flow inside inflators and airbags and crash calculations in the unlikely event of a flying car crash and obtain the results in the form of images and quantified numerical data. By sharing the results of such highly accurate CAE with airbag module manufacturers and manufacturers of drones and flying cars, we believe we can strengthen our ability to propose solutions to common issues required in the industry. While advancing these studies, we aim to establish CAE technology at a level that can be utilized in practice by around 2026.

Development of Safety Devices for Flying Cars to Contribute to Future Mobility

We began development of safety devices for flying cars as a corporate research theme^* in January 2022. This is an R&D theme that utilizes our record in development of drone safety components.
　We envision manned flights of flying cars to proliferate from around 2030 onward. Since flying cars are much heavier than drones for industrial applications, we expect the safety devices for them to also be larger. We are beginning with a proposal for an emergency safety device from a parachute that is similar to PARASAFE® and will search for the optimal form of safety device through information exchanges with cooperating partners and the industry.
　The Aero Business Promotion Department and Research & Development Group will take the lead on advancing development of the pyrotechnics safety technology cultivated in the safety systems business and drone safety components while also providing safety and security in new types of air mobility.

• * In research and development aimed at creating new businesses and products, we strategically allocate company-wide management resources to themes that are expected to become major growth areas in the future, and promote them as "corporate research themes" by integrating internal and external technologies, products, and intellectual property.

Research DX —Exploring Platforms for Using Informatics—

Digital transformation (DX) of research and development through data mining, AI use, data visualization, and other means is especially important to accelerate the creation of new products. We began by actually asking employees involved in research and development and aim to build the infrastructure and mechanisms to support research and development based on the three cornerstones of digital data accumulation, digital data use, and education for literacy and skills.
　In 2022, we began testing platforms for use of informatics that make it possible to use data science and computational science in any environment. Making it possible to easily access the platform from laboratories and other places where researchers perform their work without special hardware, such as a dedicated high-performance PC and communication environment, will enable researchers to use sophisticated data routinely. We will reference the results of evaluations by researchers who participated in testing as we target full-scale operation.

Initiatives for research and development using a co-working space

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/).
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.

Investment in UMI No.3 Fund -Support for outstanding materials and chemical companies and open innovation-

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.

Initiatives with iPEACE223 Inc.
～Strengthen joint research for green propylene production to contribute to a carbon-neutral society～

iPEACE223 Inc. (https://ipeace223.com/) sustainably manufactures propylene and its derivatives from bio-ethanol using zeolite catalysts, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality. This innovative catalytic technology enables the highly selective production of propylene from ethylene, thereby reducing costs and enabling bio-propylene production in small-scale plants without the need for complex processes. Nippon Kayaku began joint research with the company in fiscal 2024, focusing on the superiority of this technology.

　Joint research has proceeded smoothly, and we have made an investment to further strengthen collaboration and cooperation. In the future, Nippon Kayaku will contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society by combining its knowledge of catalyst development and industrialization, as well as iPEACE223’s catalyst and plant design technologies, and by accelerating efforts toward the practical application of bio-propylene manufacturing technology using bio-ethanol as a raw material.