Teijin establishes Europe Sustainable Technology Innovation Center

Teijin Ltd. (Tokoyo, Japan) announced on Jan. 21 that it has established the European Sustainable Technology Innovation Center (ESTIC) in Arnhem, Netherlands, as a research and development (R&D) facility tasked with developing technologies for a more sustainable world (see “Teijin contributes to sustainability with infrastructure innovations”).

As an R&D hub, ESTIC will facilitate collaboration among researchers across borders to strengthen development initiatives in Teijin’s various business units. ESTIC will also undertake the challenge of developing all-new businesses that leverage the lifecycle capabilities of Teijin’s core materials and the development of green materials to support the global circular economy and lower environmental impact. This includes efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions and to stimulate the hydrogen economy.

ESTIC will also reportedly establish a satellite office at Brightlands Chemelot Campus, an international open-innovation community active in performance materials, sustainable processes and biomedical solutions in Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands, to further activate communication with external innovation communities and research institutes. The Brightlands Materials Center itself has ongoing programs investigating polymer materials and composites in additive manufacturing, lightweight automotive, sustainable buildings and more, including the prototype of its Limburg Bike — ESTIC’s potential use of composites, therefore, seems likely.

Since the signing of the Paris Agreement, Teijin says the world has come to recognize decarbonization as an urgent global task. Teijin previously declared its long-term goals for reducing environmental impact in the company’s 2020-2022 management plan, entitled “Always Evolving,” which was announced in February 2020. The company is now pursuing growth and development in line with these goals. Teijin also supports the United Nations Global Compact as well as the SDGs.