Kaneka Corp. has decided to significantly increase production capacity for its biodegradable polymer product, Green Planet, in Japan. Green Planet holds promise as an innovative solution against environmental harm caused by single-use plastics due to its biodegradable characteristics, while maintaining similar functionality as traditional plastics. 

 

The company plans to invest approximately 15 billion Japanese yen on the project with a production capacity of 15,000 tons per year. Start of operations is expected in January 2024.

 

Green Planet (PHBH) is a biomass polymer produced by microorganism biosynthesis using plant oils. Green Planet biodegrades easily both in soil and in water (salt water and fresh water). As Green Planet will be eventually biodegrade into CO2 and water, it doesn’t pollute environment.

 

Kaneka estimates Green Planet could replace roughly 25 million tons of traditional single-use plastic products per year. worldwide. Green Planet is already being used for straws, cutlery, coffee capsules, bags, films, etc., and these applications alone amount to over 5 million tons per year. The number of inquiries Kaneka is receiving from environmentally conscious brand holders is growing rapidly, and Kaneka will expand our supply capabilities to meet growing demand.

 

Led by the policy of “local production for local consumption”, Kaneka plans to further increase its production capacity in Europe and America, where demand is also rising. Green Planet has business potential on the order of hundreds of thousands of tons, and will be one of the core products in Kaneka’s business portfolio.

 

Green Planet can be used in a wide variety of applications, and this range is expected to grow even further in the future. For this reason, the new production plant is viewed as a foundation for future process technology development. By operating this new plant, Kaneka plans to further develop new products, promote productivity improvement and cost reduction, through process innovation. The benefits from such process innovation will thus be applied to future capacity expansions.