130-Million-Dollar Investment Kaneka to Increase Biodegradable Biopolymers Production Capacity in Japan

Kaneka has plans to invest 130 million dollars to expand the production capacity of its biodegradable biopolymers at its Kaneka Takasago manufacturing site in Japan. With this move, the company plans to achieve a total production capacity of 20,000 tons every year at the site.

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KANEKA CORPORATION

Tokyo/Japan – Kaneka Corporation has decided to significantly increase production capacity for its biodegradable biopolymer at its Kaneka Takasago manufacturing site in Japan. Plastic pollution has become a widespread problem with single-use plastics being banned in many places around the world. In Japan, as well, the Act on Resource Circulation for Plastics, slated to go into effect in April of this year, will mandate a reduction in single-use plastics.

The company’s biodegradable biopolymer holds promise as an innovative solution against environmental harm caused by single-use plastics due to its’ biodegradable characteristics, while maintaining similar functionality as traditional plastics. It is a biomass polymer produced by microorganism biosynthesis using plant oils. The biopolymer biodegrades easily both in soil and in water (salt water and fresh water) and eventually biodegrades into CO2 and water, it doesn't pollute the environment.

Kaneka estimates that its biodegradable biopolymer could replace roughly 25 million tons of traditional single-use plastic products per year worldwide. The biopolymer is already being used for straws, cutlery, coffee capsules, bags, films, etc., and these applications alone amount to over 5 million tons per year. The number of inquiries Kaneka is receiving from environmentally conscious brand holders is growing rapidly, and Kaneka will expand its supply capabilities to meet growing demand.

Led by the policy of ‘local production for local consumption’, Kaneka plans to further increase its production capacity in Europe and America, where demand is also rising. The biopolymer will be one of the core products in the firm’s business portfolio.

The biopolymer can be used in a wide variety of applications, and this range is expected to grow even further in the future. For this reason, the new production plant is viewed as a foundation for future process technology development. By operating this new plant, Kaneka plans to further develop new products, promote productivity improvement and cost reduction, through process innovation. The benefits from such process innovation will thus be applied to future capacity expansions.

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