Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. recently signed a licensing agreement with Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., a Japanese chemicals company that is part of the Mitsui conglomerate. Under the agreement, Mitsui will receive rights to MCC-owned basic patent (JP4380654) for a biomass-based polyester.
The license includes the production and manufacture of bio-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET), use renewable biomass resources, from which, among other products, low-carbon bottles.
The patent owned by MCC is a substance patent for a biomass-based, high-quality polyester and is the basic patent required for engaging in the manufacture or sale of this material. MCC has registered the patent in Japan, the US, EU, and China.
MCC owns many other patents for biomass-based products. To foster the adoption of biomass-derived materials that impose lower environmental loads, MCC will not only continue to expand its own business but also promote collaborative efforts and licensing arrangements with other companies.
This year has seen an acceleration of Mitsui’s decarbonisation efforts. Next to the present agreement, the company is also collaborating with Neste and Toyota Tsusho Corp. on the realisation of Japan’s first industrial-scale production of renewable polymers from 100% bio-based hydrocarbons. That collaboration will see Neste produce its drop-in Neste RE feedstock entirely from renewable raw materials, which Mitsui Chemicals will use to replace a part of the fossil feedstock it uses in its crackers at Osaka Works, becoming Japan’s first company to use bio-based feedstock in its crackers.
In addition, Mitsui & Co has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with PureCycle Technologies Inc. for the development of a facility for the production of what PureCycle calls ultra-pure recycled polypropylene (UPRP) in Japan.