ILEA000687746: Murata Manufacturing's all-individual battery that has started shipping samples

Production line for On-Awa, a solid bath salt sold by Earth Chemical Co.

Each line is equipped with one robot that collects the correct number of bath salts and transfers them to the boxing process. The collecting robots are made by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and in front of each of the four robots, bath salts produced in its own line are placed. If a problem occurs in the production line and bath salts do not flow, the robots automatically determine the problem and accumulate the stored bath salts. If the stoppage is for a short time, it will not affect the accumulation work. Shigekazu Terada, plant manager of the Ako Plant in Ako City, Hyogo Prefecture, says, 'We are also using robots in the process of stacking product cases on pallets, and both types of robots are contributing to efficiency. (Photo taken on January 29, 2020, location unknown, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images)

Akira Yoshino at a press conference after receiving the Nobel Prize at LivTech.

Akira Yoshino (photo), winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, visited the Lithium Ion Battery Materials Evaluation Research Center (LivTech, Ikeda City, Osaka Prefecture), where he serves as president, for the first time since the award ceremony on April 18 and reported to about 70 people affiliated with the center. At the meeting, Dr. Yoshino said, "Everyone gathered here first thing in the morning. I gave them chocolates in the shape of Nobel Prize medals with my signature on them," he said with a smile. LivTech is a group of researchers from lithium-ion battery-related companies, researching electrode materials and next-generation all-solid-state batteries. Mr. Yoshino said, "We need to promote the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and other areas around batteries. LivTech, Ikeda City, Osaka Prefecture, December 18, 2019. Credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images

Opening Ceremony of Ferrotec HD's New Plant in Hangzhou, China

Ferrotec Holdings (HD) will start mass production of 8-inch wafers at its new plant in Hangzhou, China by January to March 2020. The company plans to produce about 100,000 wafers per month. This is the first time for the company to build a line for 12-inch wafers. The company is already mass-producing 100,000 wafers of 8-inch silicon wafers at its Shanghai Plant in Shanghai City.The opening ceremony of the new plant (photo) was held on the 22nd. The ceremony was attended by about 450 people, including local government officials. Mr. Ka Xianghan, Vice President of Ferrotec HD, who oversees the company's business in China, said, "Due in part to the impact of the trade friction between the U.S. and China, domestic production is advancing, especially in the high-tech field. We will also expand our supply to contribute to the expansion of the Chinese market," he said. (November 22, 2019, Hangzhou, China; Credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images)

The second factory of Okada Shell Manufacturing introducing IT production control system.

Okada Shell Manufacturing (Awaji City, Hyogo Prefecture) will introducean IT production management system to its No. 2 plant by December 2020. The investment will amount to about 20 million yen. The plant is the main production base near the main plant. The production plan will be reflected directly from the office to the production facilities in the plant, and the progress will be monitored in real time. Okada Shell Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is engaged in the production of cores, which are sand molds used to create cavities inside castings. Conventional paper-based production records have been prone to errors, but the company will automatically accumulate production data from its facilities and use the data to extract production conditions that realize high quality and to train young workers. In addition to the use of simulation equipment to analyze the core manufacturing method, the defect rate will be reduced from 5% to 2%. Credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images

Current Toshiba "SCiB" products

Toshiba is planning to commercialize the next generation of its proprietary SCiB lithium-ion rechargeable batteries in fiscal 2020 or later, with an energy density that is more than 50% higher than that of conventional products. The company has already developed a prototype cell at its research laboratory and will establish mass production technology. While SCiBs are strong in terms of longevity and fast charging performance, energy density, which leads to higher battery capacity, has been an issue. The company aims to expand its business by focusing on hybrid vehicles (HV), railroads and stationary applications. However, in the lithium-ion battery market as a whole, major manufacturers in Japan, China and South Korea are competing with each other. Toshiba's strategy is to target a "niche top" market by narrowing down the target market because price competition is not in Toshiba's favor. (Photo taken on November 15, 2019, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images)

A shipping line equipped with metal detectors to ensure the safety of rice at Hyoshin Kikai Kogyo Co.

Hyoshin Kikai Kogyo Co., Ltd. of Harima Town, Hyogo Prefecture, has entered the rice cultivation and sales business. The company has obtained JGAP certification for its rice, a safety management standard for agricultural products. The company has harvested about three tons of "Milky Queen," a variety of rice that has a good taste and sells at a relatively high price, and is currently selling samples of the rice. in fiscal 2008, the company will borrow paddy fields from farmers in the vicinity of its headquarters to more than double the area under cultivation. The company will use its own bases for sales. The company has already developed and sold a device for hydroponic cultivation of vegetables on board by applying the technology of marine equipment. The company obtained JGAP certification for its hydroponic fruits and vegetables in 2006, and has now obtained the certification for rice as well. Photo taken on August 30, 2019, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images

ATOUN's powered suit, "ATOUN Model Y."

On April 24, ATOUN (Nara City), a subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation, announced that it will enter the nursing care industry in earnest. The company will offer the "ATOUN Model Y" power suit (photo), mainly for tasks that require long hours and a heavy workload, such as helping people change clothes in bed. The company is proposing to sort out the tasks that are easy to use in nursing care and those that are not. In the future, the company will also improve the suit's functions by making it smaller and lighter. On the same day, Takayuki Fujiwara, deputy director of teaching at Osaka College of Health and Welfare (Yodogawa Ward, Osaka City), saying, This time, the company plans to add the nursing care industry to its lineup and expand its annual sales volume to about 3,000 units, about three times the current level, by fiscal 2020. Photo taken on July 24, 2019, location unknown, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images

Fuses for Trains from Utsunomiya Electric Manufacturing Co.

Utsunomiya Electric Manufacturing Company (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo), a fuse manufacturer, is expanding its business domain. The company's main business is marine fuses, but in recent years it has expanded its business to include railroad fuses. Utsunomiya Electric Manufacturing Co. Utsunomiya Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is an approved manufacturer by the Ministry of Defense, and its fuses are used in submarines and ships. Recently, the company has expanded its business to include elevators, condominiums, and other buildings. The railroad industry is growing particularly fast. The number of railroad cars equipped with emergency power supply systems that allow trains to run during power outages is expected to increase in the future. Mr. Nishimura is enthusiastic: "Fuse does not appear on the surface, but we want to do our best as a behind-the-scenes player. Photo taken on June 21, 2019, location unknown, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images

Board with high-precision angular rate sensor (right) and MEMS sensor mounted.

Sumitomo Seimitsu Industries, Ltd. and Collins Aerospace Corporation of the U.S. will increase the production capacity of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors by up to five times the current level by 2024. In addition to conventional products such as inertial sensors for aerospace applications, contract production of various sensors required for automation of factories and machines will grow significantly. Silicon Sensing Systems (SSSL, Plymouth), an English subsidiary established by the two companies in 1999 with a 50% stake each, has its sole production base at the headquarters of Sumitomo Precision Products. As the first phase of the expansion, the plant will be moved to another building by August 2008, and expanded to 3,000 square meters, about twice the current size. In addition to a clean room, etching and sputtering equipment will be added, doubling the production capacity. (Photo taken on June 20, 2019, location unknown, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images)

Terrafuse's own product "Yakijaga

Terrafuse will start to expand sales of potato chips that are not fried in oil, for which it has its own manufacturing technology. In cooperation with a major trading company, the company will work on developing products for major convenience stores. In order to expand sales, the company plans to triple the production capacity of its main plant in the near future. Currently, Terrafuse produces its own potato chips product, "Yakijaga", and private brand products for distributors at the main plant. Its production capacity is about 50 kilograms per hour, which will be increased to about 150 kilograms per hour. Photo taken on May 13, 2019, location unknown, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images

Murata Manufacturing's all-individual battery that has started shipping samples

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