Showa Denko Starts Commercial Production of New Carbon Nanotube

Showa Denko announced on Monday the firm starts commercial production of “VGCF-X,” a new-grade carbon nanotube. The firm will construct new productive facilities with an initial output capacity at 400 tonnes per year in Oita complex, Japan, and start operation in early 2010.

To start the commercial scale production of VGCF-X, Showa Denko concluded a patent cross-license agreement and a supply agreement with Hyperion Catalysis International, a US carbon nanotube maker that holds the top market share for resin composite applications.

VGCF-X provides conductivity to resin composite applications by addition of a small amount, just several percentage points. The diameter is 15 nanometers and the length is 3 micrometers. An added amount is a fifth-tenth compared with previous carbon black or carbon fiber.

VGCF-X can find applications in static-free plastic cases to carry semiconductor or hard disk media parts. In future, conductive plastic is expected to become used for automotive parts and coating materials. Showa Denko plans to expand VGCF-X output capacity to above 1,000 tonnes per year toward 2015.