Fine-chemical makers see energy, bioscience sectors as growth areas

Two fine-chemical majors, Adeka Corp. and NOF Corp., are targeting the business segments of energy and life sciences for their corporate growth. Adeka Corp. has listed information/electronics, the environment, energy, and life sciences as the four main fields in which to strengthen its R&D efforts. Under energy, it plans to develop for commercialization within three to five years, materials for lithium-ion batteries, solar cells and power semi-conductors. It also plans to actively market in cold-climate regions like North America its pour point depressant for biodiesel, which it has already released domestically. NOF Corp. has designated the fields of life sciences, electronics/information and energy/environment for accelerated product development. In energy, it has a goal of solid-state Li-ion batteries. It has already come up with noncombustible gel electrolyte materials with 30% higher heat resistance than liquid electrolytes, and aims to leverage the low-flammability material into potentially lighter batteries with higher outer strength to capture a 10% market share. (August 13, 2009)