Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (TYO:5101) has carried out joint R&D efforts with two academic partners to develop a catalyst system with the world’s highest productivity for creating butadiene from bioethanol. The company has then also been successful at using this butadiene in the synthesis of butadiene rubber. For its research here, Yokohama Rubber worked with the National Institute of Advanced...
Continental AG recently announced that it has opened Taraxagum Lab Anklam, a laboratory for research into dandelion rubber. The new facility is located in Anklam, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The research lab will conduct R&D efforts into cultivation and extraction processes for the Russian dandelion, looking to use this as a source of natural rubber. Plans are to then utilize this as...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) has discovered a technique for monitoring and measuring strain-induced crystallization in natural and isoprene rubber at a record-high temporal resolution. The basic technology for this was developed using Spring-8, a large synchrotron radiation facility in western Japan. Natural rubber is less susceptible to cracking than typical isoprene rubber, with one suspected reason for this being the crystallization...
Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. (TYO:7282), a member of the Toyota Group, has opened a new base for Indian subsidiary Toyoda Gosei Minda India Pvt. Ltd. (TGMIN). The base is intended to handle engineering and sales matters, and is located in Gurgaon, near Delhi. Employees at the location have been tasked with developing, designing and selling a range of products –...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) recently announced that it has started a development project targeting the use of driverless vehicles in tire noise tests. Such tests are one of several types conducted using vehicles. By implementing tire noise tests that deploy a self-driving vehicle rather than rely on human skills and know-how, Bridgestone aims to improve the accuracy and efficiency of its...
Sumitomo Riko Co. Ltd. (TYO:5191) and Nagoya University recently entered into the second year of a collaborative research agreement under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Formed last April, the agreement targets joint research into heat management for organic materials. Looking to accelerate the deployment of heat management measures in materials technology, this comprehensive agreement targets four annual...
