At a glance
| Booth | S7137 |
| Country | JP |
| Website | www.kaneka.co.jp/en |
Company profile
Kaneka Corporation was established on September 1, 1949 and has head offices in Tokyo and Osaka. As of March 31, 2026, paid-in capital was 33,046 million yen, with 3,485 employees at Kaneka Corporation and 11,762 employees including consolidated subsidiaries. Its listed Solutions Vehicles cover Vinyls and Chlor-Alkali, Performance Polymers (MOD), Performance Polymers (MS), Foam & Residential Techs, E & I Technology, PV & Energy management, Performance Fibers, Medical, Pharma & Supplemental Nutrition, and Foods & Agris. Kaneka Corporation began developing PHBH in the early 1990s, before marine micro-plastic pollution had gained broad global recognition, with the aim of providing an environmentally friendly option that did not depend on oil resources. Researchers searching worldwide for polymer-producing microorganisms found a PHBH-producing microbe in soil at the Takasago Manufacturing Site, but the newly found microorganism could initially produce only small quantities. Even if a microorganism suitable for mass-producing PHBH could be developed, practical use still presented significant difficulties, so the company continued a series of trial-and-error efforts. By combining proprietary polymer technology and biotechnology developed over many years, Kaneka Corporation became the first company in the world to achieve industrialized PHBH production and has continued working to raise production to commercial levels.
Exhibits
Within E & I Technology, Kaneka Corporation applies chemistry to materials intended to help electronics products become smaller, more powerful, and more visually refined. Its information and communication materials include PIXEO™ and APICAL™ super heat-resistant polyimide films and Kaneka flexible cover coat ink for flexible printed circuit boards, including PIXEO for high-frequency applications. Thermal-management offerings include multilayer insulation and heat-dissipating materials, Super Insulation, and a Thermal Strap for Space Applications for radiant-heat countermeasures and cryogenic or space environments. Optical and display materials include ELMECH™ high-precision optical film, Kaneka Optical Acrylic Resin, polyimide varnish for flexible displays, ILLUMIKA™ transparent curable resin with heat and light resistance, and a transparent polyimide film development product. Kaneka Transparent Conductive Film combines conductivity and transmittance, with ITO sputtering used to achieve resistance of 20 to 80 Ω/□ for applications such as smartphones, PCs, and touch panels for electronic billboards. The E & I range also includes a contact image sensor that integrates a light-receiving IC, imaging lens, and light source, reads in close contact without distortion, and is used for applications including banknote distinction in ATMs; the simple structure supports miniaturization, low cost, and low power consumption. KANEKA Biodegradable Polymer Green Planet™ is Kaneka Corporation’s brand name for PHBH, Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate), and is described as a 100% biomass-derived polymer that is biodegradable even in seawater. PHBH is produced by microorganism fermentation using bio-based oils as primary raw materials and is eventually decomposed into CO2 and H2O through digestion by microorganisms in the environment. Kaneka Corporation reports biodegradability in both soil and seawater, while noting that the progress of biodegradation depends on environmental conditions such as temperature and microorganisms in seawater. In 2017, certain grades obtained “OK Biodegradable Marine” certification, and the seawater-degradation examples shown by the company are identified as internal-data results rather than a guarantee of degradation in seawater. Green Planet™ can be processed into straws, shopping bags, cutlery, food packaging, and other applications, and in 2019 PHBH was listed in the European Commission’s Plastic Implement Measure for all food types. Japan Airlines has adopted Green Planet™ in airport lounges and in-flight uses that include in-flight sales shopping bags, rice-ball packaging, reusable side-dish containers, earphone packaging, cutlery-set packaging, and shoehorns. Starbucks Coffee Japan adopted Green Planet™ for TO GO cutlery and straws, with straws introduced first in Okinawa Prefecture from January 23, 2025 and then rolled out across Japan from March. Tokyu Hotels & Resorts uses toothbrushes and hairbrushes made with the material in guest rooms and amenity bars, while Seven-Eleven Japan uses Green Planet™ straws for “SEVEN CAFÉ.” A collaborative cosmetics-container project with Shiseido Company, Ltd. began in April 2019, and other listed adoptions include ITO EN telescopic straws, FamilyMart spoons, JALUX airport-store shopping bags, and straws at cafes connected to Goldwin directly managed stores. Kaneka Corporation signed an official partnership agreement with Kashima Antlers on October 21, 2021 to promote initiatives for a sustainable society, including use of Green Planet™, and entered the Kameoka Future Creation Environmental Partnership Agreement with Kameoka City on November 25, 2021. A PHBH plant with annual production of 5,000 tons was completed in December 2019, and the company later announced a significant increase in Green Planet™ production capacity in Japan in February 2022. Subsequent applications listed by Kaneka Corporation include molded foam cushioning for Sony large-screen TVs in 2024, pharmaceutical-packaging banding films for Shionogi Pharma and Daily Yamazaki straws in 2025, and Mizuno artificial turf adopted at Vantelin Dome Nagoya in 2026. Green Planet™ was selected by the Green Innovation Fund to further reduce environmental impact, PHBH has been presented by the Japanese government as an innovative technology for global issues, and the product received the JSBBA Award for Achievement in Technological Research in 2025 after Kaneka Corporation had received the Society for Biotechnology, Japan Technical Award in 2018. Other Green Planet™ developments listed by Kaneka Corporation include the 2023 start of resource recycling using waste cooking oil with JR-West Hotels, the first introduction of a Green Planet™ food-film packaging material in 2023, and an environmental education program created in the same year. In 2024, the material was adopted for Suzuki outboard-motor packaging, reusable food containers for JAL international in-flight meals, and additional hotel razors, extending uses beyond disposable straws and cutlery into packaging, reusable containers, and molded products. The adoption record also includes shopping bags and spoons for multiple retailers, shoulder shopping bags for ASICS Japan, straws in DAISO stores and THE NORTH FACE cafes, and molded foam products developed as a response to ocean-plastics issues. Kaneka Corporation presents worldwide use of seawater-biodegradable Green Planet™ products as a way to address marine micro-plastic pollution, while explicitly stating that the rate of biodegradation varies with seawater temperature and microorganisms. Manufacturing and sales of the contact image sensor are handled by Vienex Corporation, and the optical-film offering also includes contract manufacturing of optical films.
Capabilities and products
- industrialization of PHBH biodegradable polymer
- seawater-biodegradable biomass-derived polymer
- super heat-resistant polyimide film
- cover coat ink for flexible printed circuit boards
- multilayer insulation and heat-dissipating materials
- high-precision optical film
- optical acrylic resin
- polyimide varnish for flexible displays
- transparent curable resin with heat and light resistance
- transparent polyimide film
- ITO transparent conductive film
- contract manufacturing of optical films