Steadily working for 10 years with the aim of realizing a sustainable society. Story behind the devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ment of the new biomass material CELRe

- First, what kind of material is CEL遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金?

Ikura: It is “cellulose fiber reinforced plastic” made by mixing plant-based cellulose fibers with resin. Directed at realizing a sustainable society, reducing the amount of plastic used is a major issue. As the legal framework for recycling becomes better defined, now is the time for manufacturers such as us to devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金 actual products that will lead to carbon neutrality. CELRe is one of the products that have been devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ed.

Hamuro: One of the main features of CELRe is that the content of plant-based resin has been increased from around 20% in normal materials to at least 51% while maintaining the product strength. The excellent recyclabi遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ty will lead to increased product 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金fe, and as a result, it will contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions.

Satake: he fact that CELRe utilizes polymer technology unique to us as a power cable manufacturer is also one of the features. It can be said that CELRe was born through a combination of the company’s technology accumulated over the past 50 years and newly devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ed technology.

Kim: It looks basically the same as traditional plastic. The material itself has a pale brown color, so it is easy to create various colors by adding a colorant. As an example from daily 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金fe, it can be used for outdoor products, such as those used when camping.

Kinoshita: As the origin of the name CELRe, “CEL” comes from cellulose and “Re” comes from resin, reinforcement and recycle, so the name incorporates a number of meanings. In the current project, we were allowed to name the new product, and my pr遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金osed name “CELRe” was selected.

- When did the devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ment of CELRe begin? Also, during devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ment, what were some of the “challenges” you faced?

Kim: The devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ment project began in 2014. Initially, we only expected it to last around 3 years, but this year will be the 10th year. Rarely does the company spend such a long time devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ing a new material. Despite the high expectations, devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ment did not progress as smoothly as we had h遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ed, and we almost gave up at one point.

Ikura: Roughly speaking, the first 5 years were spent devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ing basic technology, and the following 2 years were spent establishing a system for mass production. Efforts during the final 2-3 years were focused on conducting PR to customers. Each phase involved its own various challenges.

Hamuro: Mainly Satake-san and I were involved in devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ing the material. I researched processing technology for combining cellulose and rubber. Basically, cellulose and rubber are similar to water and oil, meaning they are difficult to mix together. I needed to investigate what additives are required to make these 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金posing materials stick together.

Ikura: Nobody on 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e team possessed 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金orough knowledge of 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e field you were researching, so it must have been difficult.

Hamuro: That’s true. I was assigned this job just after graduating, and at first, I had a positive attitude and wanted to try everything. However, as my research progressed, I started to rea遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ze my situation and the major obstacles I faced. I wondered if I could actually rea遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ze any results.

The materials we handled up to now have been synthetic, and it is difficult to control natural materials 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ke cellulose. There were times when the same test would produce different results the next day. I moved forward with my analysis while receiving assistance from other departments.

Satake: My job was to increase the strength of CELRe while maintaining the re遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金abi遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ty as a material. Since joining the company, I have researched how to maintain the characteristics of CELRe after it absorbs water, but my first year of research was terrible.

遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e changes to a material’s characteristics after it absorbs water are investigated in a device called a damp heat tester, but it takes about a mon遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金 and a half until 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e results are available. Sometimes, I would conduct 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e test after performing various investigations only to learn a mon遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金 and a half later 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金at 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e streng遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金 had decreased. Such moments were disappointing, but 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ere was no quitting. I would 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ink about what improvements to make and conduct 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e test again. My days were spent in repeated trial and error.

Kim: In many cases, 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e good ways to make cellulose and resin stick toge遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金er have already been patented. Given 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金is, Satake-san had to work from scratch to find a way. It involved investigating 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e characteristics of materials 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金at exist in 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e natural world and using 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金em in a way nobody ever has before. I 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ink it was quite a feat.

Satake: I was discouraged when I could not determine the root cause of the problem I was facing, but I read a large volume of 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金terature, participated in academic conferences and repeatedly set and va遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金dated hypotheses focusing on the mechanism of the material. I inspired myself to do whatever it took to achieve results, and I unconsciously made a gesture of triumph with my fist when I was ultimately successful.

Kinoshita: My role was to mass produce the material devel遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ed by Hamuro-san and Satake-san. In order to use CELRe for actual products, it was essential to establish a stable, efficient mass production system that used extruders to form the material. However, this process also involved one challenge after another. Many times, although the laboratory test was a success, it would fail during the continuous production process in the actual workplace using extruders.

In addition, 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金is work was carried out during 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e first wave of 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e COVID-19 virus. While 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ere were still many unknowns about 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e virus, 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e restrictions on coming to 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e office and working from home increased, and it was difficult to receive 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e supply of materials. 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金is was truly a challenging time to conduct experiments.

Ikura: Before, everyone would gather around the machinery and conduct experiments while holding discussions, and sometimes, a vendor would be called in to handle an issue. However, this was difficult to do during the COVID pandemic. In on遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ne meetings, the team members had to focus on the workplace images shown on the computer and try to confirm based on what they could see on the screen.

Kinoshita: We finally saw the 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ght at the end of the tunnel around the end of 2022, and the mass production system was prepared in January and February the following year. The progress was not always smooth, but we steadily moved forward one step at a time without rushing. I be遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金eve this enabled us to make improvements to the problems we encountered. Once the name CELRe was selected, I felt a sense of responsibi遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ty that prohibited me from giving up.

Hamuro: Speaking of responsibi遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ty, I am grateful to have been given the freedom to basically carry out the work in my designated area on my own. It was easy to consult with the others around me, so I also never felt isolated.

Satake: Definitely, we were given a great deal of freedom in 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金is project. I 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ink 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e reason 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e work was fun despite all of 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e difficult challenges was 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e fact 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金at we were given so much freedom. When reporting 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e results of 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e experiments, our knowledgeable superiors quickly provided feedback, and I was able to move forward while incorporating perspectives o遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金er 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金an my own.

Ikura: Due to 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e impact of COVID, it was not possible to have passing conversations, so I had to intentionally initiate communication, such as 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金rough 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e use of chat tools. In order to enable everyone to comfortably carry out 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金eir work, I aimed to quickly provide 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e first reaction as 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e person responsible for overseeing 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e project.

Kim: Receiving any kind of reaction makes it easier to take the next action. Also, it is definitely important to return to the starting point when running into a wall. I don’t think it is necessary to do anything special. While steadily implementing the PDCA cycle, continue to tenaciously act without giving up. I be遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金eve this is what we did, and our abi遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ty to do this led to the current result.

- What are your h遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金es for CELRe in the future, and what issues do you foresee?

Kinoshita: First, because simply using CELRe will reduce the burden on the environment, I believe searching for applications to enable as many pe遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金le as possible to use CELRe is the issue now.

Our current customers are mainly household app遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ance and office furniture manufacturers, but leveraging the material’s high strength and re遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金abi遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ty, it is planned to use CELRe for automobile products. On the other hand, it costs money for a customer to switch to a new material from a material they have a lot of experience with, and there are also psychological barriers. It will be important for us to tear down these barriers.

Hamuro: Increasing awareness of CELRe is important. If we can do this, new ideas such as “Can I use it for this product?” may be generated by the customer. Creating such a cycle is ideal, and I want CELRe to be ad遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金ted for products that are used in everyday life by the average person.

Kim: In order to realize a sustainable society, I think it will be important for each and every person to personalize the issue. Making CELRe a more common presence in daily life will h遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金efully provide an 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金portunity for more pe遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金le to think about how the sustainable society should be organized.

Satake: I want to increase the ratio of plant-based resin from the current 51% to 100%. I be遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金eve this is the ultimate goal for CELRe, and it is the challenge we should strive to achieve.

Ikura: Furukawa Electric values “searching for and deepening technology”. R&D members often tend to focus on “deepening” technology, but “searching”, which involves interacting wi遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e outside and having a broad perspective, is equally important. 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金rough 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金e CELRe project, I was able to experience 遊雅堂 インスタント銀行送金is once again. Going forward, while balancing between “deepening” and “searching”, I want to contribute to creating an even better society.