Asahi Kasei : NIMS and Four Chemical Companies to Develop a Framework for Promoting Open Innovation

PressRelease

―Further Enhancing Polymer Material Performance by Addressing Issues Common to Chemical Companies, with NIMS Playing a Pivotal Role―

The National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) (headquartered in Tsukuba, Ibaraki; Kazuhito Hashimoto, President), Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd., Asahi Kasei Corporation, and Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding on the operation of the Materials Open Platform (MOP) on June 19, 2017. The MOP initiative is expected to promote open innovation in the chemical industry.

Dramatic changes in the industrial environment driven by the development of AI, big data and IoT are making it difficult for individual manufacturers to engage in basic research leading to transformational innovations in materials ensuring international competitiveness. Chemical companies often share similar medium- to long-term issues that are difficult for them to address alone. The goal of the MOP is to respond to these common issues by developing fundamental technologies leading to innovation by facilitating large-scale collaboration across the chemical industry in Japan. The MOP will also support the global competitiveness of Japanese chemical companies by promoting the pursuit of bilateral collaboration to leverage research accomplishments produced by MOP initiatives for their specific needs. In addition, the MOP will work to resolve the various global issues Japan is facing.

NIMS and the four chemical companies aim to further enhance the performance of polymer materials in FY2017 under the MOP framework. To achieve this, they will jointly gather data on various aspects of polymer materials, such as their structures, physical properties and alterations. They will then analyze the data using materials informatics.

Materials Open Platform for Chemistry, External Collaboration Division National Institute for Materials Science

Tel: +81-29-860-4489

Email: ICHINOSE.Izumi@nims.go.jp

National Institute for Materials Science Tel: +81-29-859-2026, Fax: +81-29-859-2017

Email: pressrelease@ml.nims.go.jp

Public Relations and Investor Relations Office Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation Tel: +81-3-6748-7140

Corporate Communications Dept. Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd. Tel: +81-3-5543-5102

Corporate Communications Asahi Kasei Corporation Tel: +81-3-3296-3008

Corporate Communications Div. Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.

Tel: +81-3-6253-2100

Outline of the Materials Open Platform (MOP) to be implemented by NIMS and the chemical industry

June 19, 2017

National Institute for Materials Science President Kazuhito Hashimoto

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-Japan's "Society 5.0" initiative

Super-smart society: a society resulting from the elaborate integration of cyberspace and physical space

Fundamental technology

Fundamental cyberspace-related technology

Fundamental software-related technology Cybersecurity

Big data analysis technology

S

Cloud

Service platform for Society 5.0 (super-smart society)

Functional and integrated services

System A SystemB

Data accumulation, extraction and application

AI technology

D

Device technology Network technology

Fundamental technology related to physical space

Actuators

Internet

Interface

Component

Ｃ

User

Component

Ｃ

Component

Ｃ

Organization

Component

Ｃ

Sensors

Human interfaces Robotics Materials

Physical system

Ｓ Ａ Ｓ Ａ Ｓ Ａ Ｓ Ａ

Ｐ Ｐ Ｐ Ｐ

These materials were prepared by partially revising the materials

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distributed at the fourth CSTI meeting to discuss how to promote fundamental technologies, held on October 19, 2015.

Transforming industry-academia collaboration from "individual-to-organization collaboration" to "organization-to-organization collaboration"

Companies

Universities R&D institutes

Investments to strengthen educational and research foundations

Providing high-quality research results and dispatching highly-skilled researchers

Source: The February 16, 2016 report of the Japan Business Federation

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