Home> Press Release> Press Release (2015)> World’s First Super-Growth Carbon Nanotube Mass Production Plant Opens

World’s First Super-Growth Carbon Nanotube Mass Production PlantOpensNovember 4, 2015
Based on the achievements of a NEDO project, Zeon Corporation (ZEON) has completed and begun operationof the world’s first mass production plant for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using the Super-growth (SG) method
developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
The SG method enables high speed, large quantity synthesis, and CNTs made with the SG method have highaspect ratio, high purity, and large surface area compared with conventional CNTs. They bear high expectations
for application in new functional materials and next generation devices with as of yet unseen functions andcharacteristics. Increasing demand is expected, as they can be applied to innovative materials and devices,
including high-performance capacitors, highly functional rubber materials, and high-heat conductive materials.
Zeon Corporation began mass production in November, 2015.

SGCNT mass production plant(Zeon Corporation Tokuyama Plant)

1. Summary

Carbon nanotubes were discovered by Dr. Sumio Iijima of Japan, and Japan currently leads the world inresearching this material. Its light weight, high strength, and high electrical and thermal conductivity lend to great
expectations for its use in a variety of applications.
In the NEDO project “Nanocarbon Application Product Creation Project” (FY2003 to FY2005), the National
Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) developed the base technology of the Supergrowth method (SG method), an innovative CNT synthesis method found by Dr. Kenji Hata of AIST in 2004. In
the “Carbon Nanotube Capacitor Development Project” (FY2006 to FY2010), AIST and ZEON advanced
development of carbon nanotube (CNT) mass production technology. Additionally, AIST and ZEON startedconstruction of a mass-production demonstration plant through the FY2009 Ministry of Economy, Trade, andIndustry supplementary budget project, and since 2011 have promoted technology dissemination activities byproviding samples.
Recently, ZEON has used technology derived from the AIST mass production demonstration plant to complete
the world’s first mass production plant for high quality CNTs produced with the SG method (SGCNTs).
Because SGCNTs display such traits as high aspect ratio, high purity, and large surface area compared withother CNTs, this material bears expectations for application to new functional materials and next generation
devices with as of yet unseen functions and characteristics. This suggests the possibility of innovative materials
and devices, including high-performance capacitors, highly functional rubber materials, and high-heat conductive
materials, and demand is also expected to expand greatly. In order to meet the demand in the market for theseapplied products, ZEON began mass production of SGCNTs from November, 2015.
2. Achievements[1] Development of SGCNT mass production base technology
In the NEDO project, AIST and ZEON have built inexpensive catalyst deposition technology, large-area synthesis
technology, and continuous synthesis technology, which are especially important within the SG method. Figure 1shows the SG method. The SG method is an excellent CNT synthesis method that greatly improves the activity
and life span of a catalyst, and maintains high growth efficiency by adding a small amount of moisture to the gasphase synthesis furnace atmosphere. Compared with conventional CNT synthesis, synthesized SGCNTs show
hundreds of times the growth efficiency and can be easily separated from the substrate, therefore SGCNTs witha carbon purity of over 99 % can easily be collected, allowing for a significant reduction in catalytic usage andmanufacturing cost.

Figure 1: The SGCNT synthesis method[2] Technology dissemination activities by the SGCNT mass production demonstration plant andconstruction/completion of the mass production plant
In a Tsukuba Innovation Arena Nanotechnology (TIA-nano) project, AIST and ZEON used the mass production
base technology built with the NEDO projects to construct the SGCNT mass production demonstration plantwithin AIST (FY2009 Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry supplementary budget project), and succeeded inuniformly synthesizing SGCNTs on 500 × 500 mm metal substrates. As a result, they achieved approximately
17,000 times the production capacity compared with when the SG method was first discovered. AIST beganoffering synthesized SGCNT samples as research samples, now provided to over 200 domestic companies anduniversities. Since FY2013, ZEON has leased this plant from AIST and begun providing SGCNT samples,
supporting studies by domestic research institutions and companies aimed at commercialization of SGCNT
applied products.
Furthermore, in the NEDO “Nanocarbon Material Practical Application Project to Achieve a Low-carbon Society”(FY2010 to FY2016), the Technology Research Association for Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes (TASC) advanced
development of composite SGCNT materials. As applied products that take advantage of the excellent featuresof SGCNTs, TASC developed highly conductive rubber exhibiting high mechanical durability, conductive rubberand plastic made by adding a very small amount of SGCNTs, SGCNT/carbon fiber/rubber composite materials
having thermal conductivity on par with titanium or iron, and other such polymer composite materials that exhibit
excellent features that cannot be obtained by conventional fillers, such as carbon black. In addition, research anddevelopment relating to metal composite materials have also shown significant progress, as light-weight copper
composite materials with higher allowable current density, as well as aluminum composite materials having three
to four times the thermal conductivity of aluminum have been developed, which are expected to be applied tonext-generation transport equipment and electronic devices.
In April 2014, in order to meet the demand in the market for the applied products, ZEON decided to construct anSGCNT mass production plant within its Tokuyama Plant by utilizing the technology obtained from AIST’s mass
production demonstration plant and completed construction on November 11, 2015 for the launch of mass
production.

[2] Technology dissemination activities by the SGCNT mass production demonstration plant andconstruction/completion of the mass production plant
It is assumed that the completion of this SGCNT mass production plant will spread innovative composite
materials and applications of SGCNTs as a core material. Since the scope of applications is expected to bebroad, spanning across the energy, electronics, functional materials, and structural materials fields, creating alarge industry in Japan, ZEON will carry out mass production of SGCNTs as planned, thereby contributing to thedevelopment of the Japanese economy.

For further information
Zeon Corporation,
Department of Corporate Communications
Tel: +81-3-3216-2747