MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sumitomo Chemical is building additional production lines for its liquid crystal polymer (LCP) super engineering plastic at the company's site in Ehime, said the company.
This expansion will increase the group’s production capacity of LCP by around 30%, it said in a statement. The new production lines are scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2023. LCP has been used for a broad range of applications, including electronic components for PCs and smartphones.
Demand for LCP is continuing to grow strongly as the rollout of 5G data communications systems is progressing at scale, while electric vehicles are becoming more popular on the back of accelerated efforts to mitigate environmental impact. To immediately address a recent tightening of the global supply-demand conditions, Sumitomo Chemical has decided to construct new facilities to increase its production capacity for LCP. The Company will consider further capacity expansion as the LCP market is expected to grow rapidly supported by higher-speed, larger-volume data communications and advances in the field of mobility.
Investment and capacity details of the new production lines were not disclosed.
As per MRC, Sumitomo Chemical has successfully conducted the first waste-based polyolefin production at its laboratory in Japan earlier this year, by use of the ethylene produced by Axens ethanol-to-ethylene technology Atol. This process value chain is complemented with the upfront “Waste to Ethanol” technology by Sekisui Chemical.
We remind, Sumitomo Chemical will establish a subsidiary, Sumika Polymer Compounds Poland (SPCP), to build and operate a polypropylene (PP) compounding facility at PoznaA, Poland. The capacity of the planned PP compounding plant will be 30,000 metric tons/year. It is due to commence operations in 2022.
Sumitomo Chemical, a leading Japanese chemical company, was founded with a mission to drive societal impact and solve environmental challenges through technology. They have been exploring new opportunities to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
MRC