CNF (Cellulose Nano Fiber)

Manufacturers, a university and a local administrative corporation

I   Outlook and Strategies in CNF Market

• New materials developed in Japan have at last reached to the stage of practical use.  The key to the market expansion is in "composite"
• The makers across industries from upstream and downstream should cooperate with each other to develop the market
• Since 2016, the production structures at every maker have rapidly improved, but have not been able to establish mass-production system.
• The production volume of CNF can be around annual 400 tons by 2020, a little less than what METI expected.
• Leading makers production capacity shall be 880 tons per year by 2017
• As improvement of production structure has reached to a certain stage, the next issue is developmnent of the market and application where the production capaciyt at each makers is fully utilized,
• Such improvement and development such as hydrophobing grade and powder types that taking "composite" into account is in progress
• Cost reduction effect for making resin composite by so-called "Kyoto Process" has been attracting attention
• Another level of R&D needed to replace metals in automobile application.
• With respect to replacement of existing materials for interior/exterior,   foaming technology that reduce weight may be a way for solution
• Glass replacement films are expected for their high transparency, size stability, and surface hardness.
• The development to overcome "limitation of paper" such as yellowing from heating and water resistance has been raised as an issue.
• CNF is expected to expand adoption in functional additives where CNF can fully maximize its performance

II   Trends of Nano Fiber Makers

13 enterprises, 1 university and 1 local administrative corporation