The major chemical company Kuraray has decided that on January 1, 2017 it will absorb and merge with its wholly owned subsidiary Kuraray Chemical.

The purpose of this merger is to strive for an expansion of the high performance carbon materials business which the 2 companies are promoting. Kuraray is producing and marketing KURANODE, a plant-based hard carbon anode material, for use in components of lithium ion batteries (LiBs). The demand for these batteries installed in cars is rising and growth is anticipated. On the one hand, Kuraray Chemical is marketing activated carbon as energy and air purification globally in a wide range. The global market for activated carbon is expected to expand 7% annually due to a strengthening of regulations regarding water and air pollution as well as to an increase in demand among the emerging nations. Therefore, with the merger of the 2 companies, they plan to concentrate management resources in these 2 markets which are expected to grow even further.

Regarding the nitrogen PSA and absorption material (CMS) which the Fabricating
Equipment Division of Currently Kuraray Chemical handles an announcement will be made after January 1.