Asahi Kasei, Aquafil to Develop Novel Material for 3D Printing Applications

New Solution Asahi Kasei, Aquafil to Develop Novel Material for 3D Printing Applications

2024-10-10 Source: Press release Asahi Kasei 1 min Reading Time

Related Vendors

ASAHI KASEI EUROPE GmbH

Elementar Analysensysteme GmbH

Glatt Ingenieurtechnik GmbH

EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH

Under a MOU signed between Asahi Kasei and Aquafil, both the parties will make use of Aquafil’s Econyl Polymer chemically recycled PA6 and Asahi Kasei’s cellulose nanofiber to develop the novel material for 3D printing applications.

3DP filament of CNF.(Source: Asahi Kasei) — 3DP filament of CNF.
(Source: Asahi Kasei)

Tokyo/Japan – The Japanese technology company Asahi Kasei recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Aquafil, an Italian manufacturer of polyamide 6 (PA6). The two companies agreed to develop a novel material for 3D printing (3DP) applications utilizing Aquafil’s Econyl Polymer chemically recycled PA6 and Asahi Kasei’s cellulose nanofiber (CNF), with the support of Itochu Corporation, which has made a capital investment in Aquafil. Pellets or filaments of this compound achieve superior formability and strength, which make them suitable for use in automotive and aeronautical applications.

Econyl Polymer is a chemically recycled PA6 derived from post and pre-consumer waste. Utilizing polyamide waste such as used fishing nets, old carpets, industrial waste and so on, the material is first depolymerized into monomers, and then re-polymerized into Econyl Polymer chips.

Asahi Kasei’s CNF is made from cotton linter and features high heat resistance and network-forming ability. Furthermore, CNF has superior material recyclability compared to glass fiber. The new CNF/Econyl Polymer compound features excellent formability and strength especially in 3DP usage, and Asahi Kasei sees a great potential in high-performance applications mainly in the automotive and aeronautical fields.

Asahi Kasei plans to begin trial sales of filament of the new compound material in the EU, US, and Japan in Q3 2025. The new material will be showcased at the upcoming Fakuma (15-19 October, Germany), Sustainable Material Expo (29-31 October, Japan), and Formnext (19-22 November, Germany).

(ID:50198950)

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.