Teijin Limited has announced a new initiative to produce and sell TenaxTM Carbon Fibre using sustainable acrylonitrile (AN).

The AN will be sourced from waste and residue from biomass-derived products or recycled raw materials with ISCC PLUS certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification system.

The production will take place at Teijin's Mishima plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, using the mass balance approach. This approach ensures traceability through complex value chains, such as when biomass-derived raw materials are combined with petroleum-derived raw materials to create products.

This move aligns with Teijin Group's commitment to reducing its environmental and social impact. The company aims to safeguard the global environment in line with its long-term vision.

The sustainable AN, certified under ISCC PLUS, possesses similar physical properties to petroleum-derived AN. Consequently, TenaxTM Carbon Fibre made from this material offers comparable performance and processing characteristics as fossil-based TenaxTM products. This similarity allows customers to seamlessly integrate bio-based or circular materials, contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions throughout the product life cycle.

Teijin plans to expand its range of sustainable products by seeking ISCC PLUS certification for not only carbon fibre, including precursor but also for intermediate products like prepreg and short fibre that utilise sustainable raw materials. The company is actively pursuing global production of sustainable products and anticipates ISCC PLUS certification for its European facilities in early fiscal 2024, with U.S. facilities following suit during fiscal 2024.

Carbon fibre is widely used in various sectors, including aerospace, automotive, and sporting goods. Given the increasing pressure to minimise greenhouse gas emissions throughout the product lifecycle, the materials industry is striving to reduce the environmental impact associated with manufacturing processes involving carbon fibre across the supply chain.

In response to these challenges, Teijin has made significant changes, such as switching the fuel for in-house power generation from oil to natural gas in 2017.

Additionally, the company has implemented life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluations for carbon fibre products related to its offerings in 2021 and 2022. In June 2023, Teijin obtained ISCC PLUS certification for TenaxTM Carbon Fibre and the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor
fibre produced at its Mishima Plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.

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Source: Teijin