Japan’s Toyoda Gosei and Tohoku University have set up a joint research centre at the Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University. The aim of the lab is to focus on developing high-performance rubber, plastic and other functional materials.
Known as the “Co-Creation Research Centre for Functional Materials Contributing to Safety, Comfort and Decarbonisation”, the lab was opened recently and will run for three years to June 2029.
The partnership combines Toyoda Gosei’s rubber and plastics expertise with the university’s analytical capabilities, including its NanoTerasu facility, a 3GeV synchrotron source for nanometre-scale material visualisation, and data-driven simulation tools.
Tohoku University’s NanoTerasu research facility can visualise substances at the nano-level (one millionth of a millimetre), and simulation technology based on computational and data science. The university has been strengthening collaboration with industry partners.
Development themes cover technical exploration across diverse fields, aiming to commercialise novel rubber, plastic and functional material properties.