Conducting Demonstration Tests of a Traceability System for Chemical Recycling in Collaboration with Chaintope Inc. to Build Transparent and Reliable Supply Chains

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC), a member of the Mitsubishi Chemical Group, has conducted demonstration tests of a traceability system for chemical recycling supply chains, and verified that information such as the types of waste plastics used as recycled raw materials can be properly managed and shared in a non-tamperable manner across supply chains spanning multiple companies.
 
Since FY2023, MCC has participated in the "Establishing Environmental Testing, Diagnostics, and Tracer Technologies and Building a Digital Analysis Platform for Industrial Applications" project led by the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) under the Cabinet Office's 3rd period of the Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP) based on the theme of "Building a Circular Economy System."
 
As one of its key themes, the project is working to establish a recycling system that can ensure a stable supply of high-quality recycled plastic materials for automotive parts in response to the proposed End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) regulations, both from the perspective of establishing various evaluation technologies and building digital infrastructure for utilizing the information obtained from these evaluations. Going forward, the project also aims to create a synergistic effect by expanding the know-how gained from these efforts to other areas, such as home appliances. In this latest development, MCC conducted a demonstration test of a traceability system using blockchain to build a transparent and reliable supply chain for the acrylic resin chemical recycling supply chain that we are aiming to commercialize.
 

For this demonstration test, we worked with Chaintope Inc. to build a traceability system based on the Tapyrus blockchain developed by the company. We have verified that by using blockchain technology, it is possible to manage different types of waste plastics to be recycled as raw materials, such as those derived from post-industrial^*1, post-consumer^*1, and post-consumer and automotive uses, in a non-tamperable way, and with better transparency and reliability even in supply chains that use the mass balance method^*2 in their chemical recycling.

   
In recent years, there has been an increasing need for traceability and digital product passports (DPP), which require visualization, proof, and sharing of the environmental friendliness of products and materials, such as the provenance of recycled raw materials and the history of quality confirmation. In our most recent tests, we have verified that by using blockchain technology, information can be properly managed and shared within a supply chain spanning multiple companies, including at chemical recycling companies. This is an important achievement in advancing the commercialization of chemical recycling operations which can produce recycled products with quality comparable to conventional products.
 
The Mitsubishi Chemical Group is committed to continue promoting initiatives aimed at resolving issues in our society, such as chemical recycling and traceability, and to accelerate initiatives for green transformation (GX).
 
 

^*1 Post-industrial and post-consumer are recycling classifications based on the origins of waste plastic. Post-industrial materials refer to materials that are recycled before they are used by consumers, such as scraps generated in factories. Post-consumer materials refer to materials that are recycled after they have been used by consumers.

^*2 Where products are manufactured by mixing multiple raw materials (e.g. petroleum-derived raw materials and recycled raw materials derived from waste plastic), mass balancing is a method of distribution management where the proportions of specific raw materials used (e.g. recycled raw materials) are allocated to arbitrary products.

 
[Reference]

• Press release on October 26, 2023

New Acrylic Resin Material for Automotive Bodies under Joint Development with Honda
 

• Press release on February 20, 2023

Establishment of Japan’s First Acrylic Resin Collection Scheme in Collaboration with Tokio Marine & Nichido and ABT
 

• The 3rd period of the Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP)

The Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP) is a national project established to realize innovation in science and technology through management that transcends the boundaries of government ministries, agencies and traditional fields, with the Cabinet Office’s Council for Science, Technology and Innovation acting as the control tower. We are working on social issues that are truly critical to people, as well as world-leading issues that can contribute to revitalization of the Japanese economy. The first activity period ran for five years from FY2014 to FY2018 and the second period ran for five years from FY2018 to FY2022, and we are currently working on 14 themes as part of the third period, which began in 2023.
 

• About Chaintope Inc.　

In a society where all kinds of information are being digitized, the question arises: "Can this data be trusted?" As a global leader in blockchain technology, we strive to answer this question by developing the blockchain platform "Tapyrus" and working to implement it in society. Our mission is to bring trust to the data-driven world. By enhancing data transparency, we aim to create an environment where everyone can use data with confidence. With the spirit of a pioneer, embracing the path untraveled, we are committed to driving transformation from business to societal structures every day.
Chaintope Inc. website: https://www.chaintope.com/en/