MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sekisui Chemical has commenced the production of thermal interface materials for environment-friendly vehicles at Roermond, the Netherlands. Sekisui Chemical has established a new company, Sekisui Polymatech, based in the Netherlands, said Chemweek.
The facility has the capacity to produce around 1 million litter grease for approximately 500,000 electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid vehicles. Sekisui Chemical has invested 1.6 billion yens (15.2 million euros) in the company. The aim of this investment is to achieve a three-fold increase in the global production capacity for Sekisui Polymatech. The company intends to record 10 billion yens revenue in its thermal management business by 2022.
Sekisui Chemical says that original equipment manufacturers in Europe are developing large numbers of EV and hybrid vehicles. It is anticipated that 12.5 million of these vehicles will be produced for the European market by 2025. This trend shows that the demand for heat-dissipation products for the lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries used in such vehicles is set to rise rapidly.
"Until now, elements for EVs, such as those for Li-ion batteries, have been made largely in Asia. Our focus is on local manufacturing,” says Sekisui Polymatech managing director Makoto Sambongi.
The company currently operates three thermal interface materials production bases in China, Japan, and Thailand.
As MRC informed earlier, Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd. acquired carbon fibre parts manufacturer AIM Aerospace, based in Renton, Wash., for an undisclosed amount. As a result of the purchase, the company will change its name to Sekisui Aerospace.
As per MRC, Russia's output of chemical products rose in August 2020 by 5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 5.3% in the first eight months of 2020. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-July output. August production of benzene fell to 102,000 tonnes from 95,300 tonnes a month earlier due to scheduled shutdowns for maintenance at several producers. Overall output of this product reached 918,300 tonnes over the stated period, down by 0.9% year on year.
MRC