SEKISUI constructs new production plant for thermal interface materials

SEKISUI CHEMICAL has decided to construct a new production plant of thermal interface materials for environmentally-friendly vehicles such as electric vehicles (EVs) for SEKISUI POLYMATECH in the Netherlands.

The new company will oversee the production of thermal interface materials at the plant and the sales expansion for thermal interface materials in Europe, with plans to invest approximately 1.6 billion yen (£11.2 million) in establishing the new company.

The new company will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of SEKISUI POLYMATECH.

Registration of the new company will be completed in August 2018, with construction due to start in January 2019 and plant operations planned to start in spring of 2020.

In Europe, many environmentally-friendly vehicles such as EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) are being developed by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

It is predicted that the number of such vehicles produced in FY2025 will increase to 12.5 million units, approximately 10 times the 2017 figure according to the “Global Vehicle Production Forecast” by IHS Markit, resulting in increased demand for heat countermeasures for the lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) used to supply power to such vehicles.

Therefore, they have been highly evaluated by OEMs and LiB manufacturers, and increased adoption accompanying expansion of the environmentally-friendly vehicle market is expected.