Teijin will invest around JPY 3 billion (approximately $26 million) on the expansion, with targeting operations expected to begin in early 2019.
Teijin will develop MIRAIM applications in the energy field, for heat exchangers and fuel cells, and in the healthcare field, for foreign-substance removal filters and cell culture medium sheets.
Teijin is targeting combined sales of JPY 20 billion (approximately $180 million) for MIRAIM membranes and LIELSORT innovative separator for lithium ion secondary batteries by 2020.
Since launching its polyethylene membrane business in 2002, Teijin has been developing production technologies for microporous membranes and techniques for incorporating inorganic particles in membranes at a development facility in the Matsuyama Factory.
MIRAIM was developed as a high-performance microporous membrane at the facility and sales began in 2015 for applications other than separator substrates, taking advantage of MIRAIM’s adjustable membrane thickness, precise pore diameter, porosity and duplex coatings for various kinds of polymers.