Denka to invest €30m on environmental upgrade

Tokyo – Japanese materials supplier Denka Co. Ltd has announced plans to invest Yen3.7 billion (€30 million) in environmental upgrades at its key production plant in Chiba, Japan.

The move aims to reduce annual CO2 emissions by 12 kilotonnes through the introduction of a high-efficiency gas turbine power generator, Denka said in a 31 Aug statement.

The investment is in compliance with the Paris Agreement, which calls on manufacturers to set medium- and long-term targets for the reduction of greenhouse emissions.

The new generators, according to Denka, will contribute to the cutting of approximately 2% of the company’s total reduction targets in the medium-term.

In the long term, Denka expects the investment to contribute to a 5% emissions cut, helped by the additional use of hydroelectric power, supplied by stations currently under construction.

Following the Paris Agreement, Denka has set itself a medium-term target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26% by 2030 compared to the 2013 baseline. 

This will include cutting 610 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of CO2 emissions, of which 260ktpa will be “energy-origin emissions.”

For the long-term, the company aims to cut “actual emissions” by 85% by 2050 from the 2013 baseline. 

Located in the eastern Japanese city of Ichihara, the Chiba plant mainly manufactures speciality acrylic synthetic rubber, styrenic functional resins, and ultra-high purity acetylene black.