DIC Enters into Strategic Partnership with U.S. Firm PCS to Provide Thermal Management Solutions that Contribute to Carbon Neutrality —Providing thermal management solutions for infrastructure applications that also help reduction of CO₂ emissions—
- Business & Product
- News Release
Tokyo, Japan—DIC Corporation today announced a strategic partnership with Phase Change Solutions Inc. (PCS), which offers thermal management solutions, to commercialize products for infrastructure applications in Japan. Under this agreement, the companies will market products containing PCS’ BioPCM®* phase change materials to firms involved in the construction of office buildings, industrial complexes and logistics facilities. These effective thermal management solutions contribute to the reduction of CO₂ emissions.
From left:Shinsuke Kotera, leader of the Sustainable Energy Business Unit of DIC’s New Business Development Headquarters
Govi Rao, CEO of PCS
Managing Executive Officer Kiyofumi Takano, General Manager of DIC’s New Business Development Headquarters
The key technology in PCS is BioPCM®, proprietary phase-change materials† that are available in various forms. PCS utilizes BioPCM® to provide advanced solutions for key issues related to energy, environment, and society in transportation for items such as fresh foods and pharmaceuticals, and infrastructure industries such as office buildings, telecom shelters and datacenters.
BioPCM®-based products lower the air-conditioning load in buildings and other structures by absorbing and releasing thermal energy to maintain a specific temperature. This decreases electric power requirements, enabling users to reduce their carbon footprint. Easy installation into walls and ceilings also allows the retrofitting of existing facilities. These properties have led to BioPCM® phase change materials being used in more than 10,000 office buildings, telecom shelters and other structures across the United States, yielding reductions in electric power consumption for air-conditioning of between 15% and 30%.
DIC Group focuses on advancing sustainability strategies to help realize a carbon-neutral society in the DIC Vision 2030 long-term management plan. To achieve this goal, we are actively exploring collaboration with startups having excellent technologies as well as developing its own products for expanding our portfolio of sustainable products‡. Against this backdrop, PCS which boasts a portfolio of sustainable products developed in line with its vision of “Smart materials for the people and planet”, and DIC, which has the know-how for manufacturing and sales of materials in Japan, resolved to enter a strategic partnership with recognizing the mutual benefits promised by such an arrangement.
We will make effort toward our shared goal of contributing to the realization of carbon neutrality by conducting demonstration tests and promoting market development for their technologies, which is already proven and in use in the United States, also in Japan.
Comment from Managing Executive Officer Kiyofumi Takano, General Manager of the New Business Development Headquarters
“With energy costs rising and the need to reduce CO₂ emissions increasingly urgent, cyclical energy solutions are taking on ever-greater importance. One such solution is thermal management. We will work to further deepen our understanding of customer needs and to provide PCS thermal management solutions that respond effectively, thereby contributing to the achievement of carbon neutrality.”
Comment from Govi Rao, CEO, PCS
“We are very excited to partner with one of the world’s premier chemical companies, DIC, to commercialize our proven technology and solutions to tackle grand challenges in Japan like climate change and human health.”
* BioPCM® is an internationally registered trademark of PCS.
† Phase change materials are substances that absorb and release large amounts of thermal energy while in phase transition, i.e., when melting or solidifying.
‡ DIC defines sustainable products as products that demonstrate unique competitive strengths and respond to environment, safety and health (ESH)-related issues.
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About Phase Change Solutions Inc.
Phase Change Solutions Inc. (PCS) is a smart materials company that boasts a proprietary BioPCM® technology, used to manufacture materials that absorb and release heat to maintain a specific temperature, and a family of BioPCM® -based products that facilitate effective thermal management, reducing CO₂ emissions from the air-conditioning systems of, among others, office buildings, telecom shelters and data centers, and that bring advancements to the transport of items such as perishables and pharmaceuticals. BioPCM®-based products can be designed to store and release thermal energy at any precise temperature from -75°C to 175°C. Because they transition to gel when absorbing heat, there is no risk of stored heat leaking, which has earned the products certification under key standards measuring flammability (ASTM International’s ASTM E84 and Underwriters Laboratories’ UL723). These products have also earned certification as “100% biobased” under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s BioPreferred program, demonstrating the company’s commitment to designing products with consideration for the environment.
About DIC Corporation
DIC Corporation is one of the world’s leading fine chemicals companies and the core of the DIC Group, a multinational organization comprising over 190 companies, including Sun Chemical Corporation, in more than 60 countries and territories. The DIC Group is recognized as a global leader in the markets for a variety of products essential to modern lifestyles, notably packaging materials, display materials such as those used in television and computer displays, and high-performance materials for smartphones and other digital devices, as well as for automobiles. Through such products, the Group endeavors to deliver safety and peace of mind, and color and comfort, to people everywhere. The DIC Group also seeks to contribute to a sustainable society by developing innovative products that respond to social change and which help address social imperatives. With annual consolidated net sales exceeding ¥1 trillion and 22,000-plus employees worldwide, the Group pledges to continue working in close cooperation with its customers wherever they are.
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Commercial Contact:
New Business Development HQ, Sustainable Energy Business Unit:susene-pcm@ma.dic.co.jp
Press Contact:
DIC Corporate Communications Department:dic-press@ma.dic.co.jp