Asahi Kasei's Board of Directors has adopted a resolution to execute a separation agreement (Separation Agreement) regarding the transfer of its Hipore?? lithium-ion battery separator1 business (The Business) to Asahi Communication Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Asahi Kasei, which is scheduled to change its name to Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Corp. (AKBSC), with an effective date of October 1, 2024 (scheduled), by absorption-type separation (The Separation).

As The Separation is a simplified absorption-type separation for Asahi Kasei in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 784 of Japan's Companies Act, certain items and content are omitted from this disclosure. A lithium-ion battery separator is a microporous membrane between the positive and negative electrodes of a lithium-ion battery, which allows lithium ions to pass through while preventing contact between the electrodes. Purpose of The Separation.

Asahi Kasei's Group Mission is contributing to life and living for people around the world, and its Energy Storage business aims to contribute to the world's carbon neutrality considering new ways of using energy. Energy Storage is one of Asahi Kasei's "10 Growth Gears" (GG10) businesses to drive future growth as designated in its medium-term management plan for fiscal 2024 focused on the theme "Be a Trailblazer," with earnings growth projected over the medium-to-long term. The core of the Energy Storage business is Hipore??

wet-process lithium-ion battery separator, whose sales have been expanding in automotive applications in addition to consumer electronics applications, with significant additional demand growth forecasted in automotive applications as an effect of government policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States. In accordance with this trend and to achieve further growth targeting automotive markets in North America and Japan, a decision was made in October 2023 to expand coating capacity for Hipore?? lithium-ION battery separator in the North America, Japan, and Korea.

In order to advance the growth strategy with swifter decision-making for management with greater independence and autonomy, the decision was made to separate The Business into a dedicated subsidiary.