Ube Industries, Ltd. (President: Masato Izumihara) and Nagoya University (President: Seiichi Matsuo) announced today that the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has commissioned the collaborating parties to develop advanced separation technology for composite plastics. The parties submitted the proposal after NEDO issued a public call for projects to develop chemical recycling technology that enables waste plastics to be efficiently used as chemical raw materials. The project is being implemented as part of NEDO's leading research program in the field of energy and environmental new technologies. The project is to be completed by March 19, 2021.

The commissioned technology will enable the separation of composite plastic products, such as multilayer films for packaging, into their constituent components. The aim is to develop material recycling technology for recycling singular constituent plastics from composite plastic waste. The commissioned technology will potentially enable low-energy and low-cost separation into constituent components, and will substantially conserve resources and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as an innovative recycling technology.

The collaborative industry-academia project will accelerate the development of new separation technologies. In anticipation of the practical implementation of the technology, researchers will examine the types of waste that the technology can be used for and conduct life cycle assessments (LCAs) for application of the treatment process.

The UBE Group is aiming to achieve an 80% reduction of GHG emissions by 2050, as part of its mandate to engage in corporate activities that are in harmony with nature, as outlined in the UBE Group Environmental Vision 2050. Furthermore, the UBE Group is addressing and helping to resolve resource, energy, and global environmental issues, as one of its basic strategies under the Vision UBE 2025--Prime Phase medium-term management plan. This is being achieved through initiatives to further reduce GHG emissions and develop and increase adoption of new technologies and products that help reduce environmental impact.