February 9, 2023
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc.
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Launches Initiatives to Manufacture and Market
Biomass Polycarbonate Products
Mitsui Chemicals to Provide Biomass Feedstock

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Mitsui Chemicals; Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: OsamuHashimoto) and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. (MGC; Head Office: Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo; President: Masashi Fujii) jointly announced today that MGC has launched initiatives
to manufacture and market biomass polycarbonate resin (PC) as part of the two companies’efforts to become carbon neutrality by 2050. Mitsui Chemicals will provide biomass-derived
bisphenol A ("biomass BPA"), which is scheduled to be developed under its BePLAYERTM
brand, and MGC will use this as a monomer feedstock in the manufacture of its PC Iupilon™1.

In December 2021, Mitsui Chemicals was the first company in Japan to allocate derivatives
and products (made with bio-based hydrocarbons as a raw material) using the mass balancemethod2 based on the ISCC PLUS certification system and is now selling biomass chemicals
and resins. It has also begun to offer products in the biomass phenol chain, where it has
traditionally been difficult to prepare biomass aromatic compounds taken directly from plantderived raw materials. The company aims to have all seven products3 including BPA certified
and on the market by March 2024. It will begin providing biomass BPA to MGC.

MGC will purchase ISCC PLUS certified biomass BPA from Mitsui Chemicals for the first timein Japan and will begin efforts to produce biomass PC at its Kashima Plant using the interface
polymerization method. MGC will utilize group company Kashima Polymer’s pelletizedproducts and functional compound products and group company MGC Filsheet’s processing
facilities for hard, highly transparent sheet products and film products for molding to add
functionality to biomass PC. Furthermore, MGC is building an integrated supply chain forbiomass PC products by marketing these products through the global sales networks ofMitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corporation and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Trading Co.

In addition, MGC's Kashima Plant and the MGC Group companies mentioned above areaiming to obtain ISCC PLUS certification by the end of this year. Up to now it has beenchallenging to procure biomass PC products for various fields including automotive,electricals and electronics, optics, OA, and semiconductors. The ISCC PLUS certification willallow for these products to be supplied widely through the mass balance method. In addition,
MGC is planning to use Circular Carbon Methanol together with biomass BPA to make theentire PC framework either CO2-derived or plant-derived. Meanwhile, overseas, MGC isplanning to acquire ISCC PLUS certification at its PC material manufacturing bases, Thai
Polycarbonate (based in Thailand) and MCC Process Plastics (Shanghai) (based in China).

Through these initiatives, both companies will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
throughout the supply chain and contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society.

1 Iupilon™ polycarbonate resin

Iupilon™ is a polycarbonate resin (PC). It has been a successful product for many years and is used in awide range of fields including electronics, OA, machinery, optics, automotive, medical, security, and sports.

2 Mass balance method based on ISCC PLUS certification

The mass balance method is an approach of assigning a measure of sustainability to a product when it has
been manufactured using both sustainable raw materials (e.g., biomass-derived raw materials) and nonsustainable raw materials (e.g., fossil-derived raw materials). The measure is assigned according to theamount of sustainable raw material input (See the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s "Bioplastic
Introduction Roadmap").
The physical properties of plastics and chemical products made with biomass do not differ from their fossilderived counterparts. The mass balance method also allows for the use of biomass in the production ofmaterials where it has traditionally been difficult. Therefore, the mass balance method is a significant meansof increasing the adoption of biomass in society and realizing a carbon neutral society.

3Total 7 products

Certified: Phenol, acetone, α-methylstyrene, BPA; To be certified: Epoxy resin, IPA, MIBK

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Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc.
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Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
TEL.: +81-3-6253-2100