Chloroprene Rubber Market
August 2023- Denka Company Limited was recognized on June 16 under the storage battery supply security plan of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) for our efforts to strengthen and expand the domestic supply of acetylene black, which is a high-function conductive agent used in xEV lithium-ion batteries, among others. In connection with this, it was formally decided on August 8 that the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization would issue a grant-in-aid. Denka is aiming to make 100% of its businesses "three-star businesses," incorporating the three elements of specialty, megatrends, and sustainability as part of its management plan Mission 2030, which was launched in FY2023, while also having a KPI of reducing its CO2 emissions by 60% (compared to FY2013). Acetylene black is one of Denka's most important products, and it produces the raw material acetylene by two methods, namely the carbide method and the petrochemical method(*1). A major challenge has been the considerable CO2 emissions from the carbide method production used at one of its three plants, the Omuta Plant. With the aim of reducing CO2 emissions from its production of acetylene-related products (decarbonization), Denka has concluded a joint development agreement with Transform Materials (headquarters: Florida, USA; CEO: Rachelle Goebel), a private equity-backed company based in the United States, for the mass production of a technology to produce acetylene and hydrogen from methane (hydrocarbon) using microwave plasma(*2). The grant-in-aid will help Denka advance the development of low-carbon acetylene mass production technology by enabling it to acquire demonstration and research equipment.
Key players are Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation, Denka Group, DuPont Performance Elastomers, Dow Chemical Company, Showa Denko K.K., Lanxess AG, Chongqing Longevity Salt and Chemical Co. Ltd., Tosoh Corporation, Nairit Plant CJSC, Zenith Industrial Rubber Products Pvt. Ltd., Shanxi Synthetic Rubber Group Co. Ltd., Polymer-Technik Elbe Gmbh, Maclellan Rubber Ltd., Zenith Rubber, Trelleborg AB, ARLANXEO, Polymer-Technik Elbe Gmbh