Asahi Kasei to Unveil PFAS-Free Polyamides and CFRP Recycling Technology at K 2025

DUESSELDORF, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 3, 2025--

Japanese technology company Asahi Kasei will unveil its newest innovation in PFAS-free polyamides and recycling technology of continuous carbon fibers at K 2025 in Hall 8a, Booth E23. The company will also showcase its diversified material solutions for automotive applications, improved connectivity and lightweighting. K 2025 is considered the world's No. 1 trade fair for plastics and rubber and will take place from October 8-15, 2025, in Düsseldorf, Germany.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250903979868/en/

Asahi Kasei has developed a groundbreaking recycling technology that enables the recovery of continuous carbon fibers from CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastics) pressure vessels used in automobiles. Utilizing electrolyzed sulfuric acid, the process completely decomposes the resin matrix while preserving the carbon fibers' original strength and continuous structure. Unlike conventional recycling methods that result in chopped fibers, this technology allows for the perpetual recycling of high-quality, cost-effective continuous carbon fibers from CFRP pressure vessels. At the K Show, Asahi Kasei will showcase over 200 meters of recycled continuous carbon fiber.

Asahi Kasei will also display PA and SEBS compounds utilizing a bio-based and biodegradable cellulose nano fiber (CNF). This material is made from cotton linter and has high heat resistance and network-forming ability. CNF-reinforced polyamide becomes less viscous when agitated, making it highly suitable for 3D printing applications for easy printing, dimensional accuracy, smooth appearance, and mechanical performance. CNF-reinforced SEBS features a unique softness, which can be adjusted by changing the internal structure of the molded product. In addition, it shows a very low warpage and shrinkage, and good hydrolysis resistance. These properties make this material suitable for a wide range of applications, for example, jigs & tooling or prosthetics & orthotics devices.

In response to the increasing demand for PFAS-free materials, Asahi Kasei is developing a PFAS-free low-friction LEONA™ polyamide and will introduce the new grade for the first time in Europe. Based on internal evaluations, the material has the same low-friction properties as fluororesins, making it suitable for sliding applications in various industries, including automotive, robot parts, OA parts, and sporting goods.

Materials for lightweighting and streamlined production of automotive parts

There has been a growing emphasis on reduced weight and improved design in automotive manufacturing. Asahi Kasei will display various technologies to address the most pressing concerns of automotive manufacturers at K 2025. One such solution is the transparent polymer, AZP™, which features an almost zero birefringence at a lightweight. It overcomes the challenges of conventional transparent polymers in applications with polarizing light, such as Virtual & Augmented Reality devices and automotive head-up displays (HUD), while maintaining superior processability for large-scale production of injection-molded optical components. The company will exhibit an interactive automotive demonstration at K 2025 to showcase how AZP™ contributes to next-generation HUD.

Conventional approaches to automotive instrument panels, door panels, armrests, or center consoles have used different materials and production technologies for skin, foam, and core layers. Asahi Kasei’s SEBS material is suitable for skin and foam layers, which can be molded in one step by utilizing a core back injection molding process and the strong chemical bonding between all layers eliminates the need for additional adhesive layers. SEBS contributes to reducing the total number of materials, simplifying the manufacturing process, and improving the recyclability of interior components.

Another solution to streamlining the manufacturing process for OEMs from Asahi Kasei is the mPPE (modified polyphenylene ether) particle foam, SunForce™. This material is well-suited for mass production of thin-walled, complex-shaped parts that require low tolerances, high heat stability, or UL94 V-0 flame retardancy. These properties make SunForce™ a perfect fit for thermal management solutions in electronic devices, transportation trays for Li-Ion battery cells, insulation parts for HVACs, and foam cores for FRP composite parts.

With the increasing number of radar applications across industries, the pressure to reduce material, production costs, and weight is rising. Slotted waveguide array antennas for automotive millimeter-wave radars are typically made of metal, requiring cost- and time-intensive milling processes. Asahi Kasei’s mPPE XYRON™ features proven wet-platability, omitting the milling process and allowing for mass production of resin antenna parts via injection moulding which lowers cost and increases scalability.

Asahi Kasei will exhibit in Hall 8a, Booth E23. For more information, visit the dedicated landing page: https://k-2025.asahi-kasei.eu/de.

About Asahi Kasei

The Asahi Kasei Group contributes to life and living for people around the world. Since its foundation in 1922 with ammonia and cellulose fiber business, Asahi Kasei has consistently grown through the proactive transformation of its business portfolio to meet the evolving needs of every age. With more than 50,000 employees worldwide, the company contributes to sustainable society by providing solutions to the world’s challenges through its three business sectors of Healthcare, Homes, and Material. For more information, visit www.asahi-kasei.com.

Asahi Kasei is also dedicated to sustainability initiatives and is contributing to reaching a carbon neutral society by 2050. To learn more, visit https://www.asahi-kasei.com/sustainability/.

SEBS for automotive interior surfaces

Comparison of optical performance of AZP and conventional optical polymers

XYRON Slotted waveguide array antenna

Asahi Kasei booth at K 2025

A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at another Russian oil terminal overnight, local officials in Russia’s Krasnodar region said Saturday, in what appeared to be the latest attack on Moscow’s vital oil industry.

Authorities in the city of Novorossiysk said falling drone debris sparked a fire at an oil terminal, injuring two people. Russia’s Astra news outlet said Ukrainian drones struck the Sheskharis oil terminal and depot, the terminus for Russian state-controlled pipeline company Transneft’s main oil pipelines in the region. Images posted by Astra appeared to show smoke rising above the oil terminal, but they could not be verified.

On Saturday afternoon, Ukraine's General Staff said its forces had struck the Sheskharis oil terminal overnight.

“The facility provides shipment of oil and oil products for export and is involved in meeting the needs of the Russian army,” the General Staff wrote on Telegram, adding that Ukrainian forces had also hit a tanker in the Black Sea belonging to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.”

Ukraine has expanded its mid- and long-range strike capabilities, deploying drone and missile technology that it has developed domestically to battle Russia’s 4-year-old invasion. Attacks on Russian oil assets that play a key part in funding the invasion have become almost daily occurrences.

Meanwhile, the death toll from a Ukrainian drone strike overnight into Friday on a college dormitory building in Starobilsk, a city in Ukraine’s Russia-occupied Luhansk region, rose to 12, Moscow-installed officials said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday denounced the attack on the dormitory as a “crime” and ordered the military to submit its proposals for retaliation. He said there were no military or law enforcement facilities near the college.

At a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting on the strike, held at the request of Russia, Ukrainian Ambassador Melnyk Andrii denied his Russian counterpart’s accusations of war crimes, calling them a “pure propaganda show” and asserting that the May 22 operations “exclusively targeted the Russian war machine.”

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Fragments of Russian missiles lie on the field against the background of the working farmers near the front line in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

This photo released by Moscow-appointed head of Russian-controlled Luhansk region Leonid Pasechnik Telegram channel on Friday, May 22, 2026, shows a university college building damaged by Ukrainian drones in Starobilsk, Ukraine. (Head of Russian-controlled Luhansk region Leonid Pasechnik Telegram channel via AP)

This photo released by Moscow-appointed head of Russian-controlled Luhansk region Leonid Pasechnik Telegram channel on Friday, May 22, 2026, shows dormitory of a university college building damaged by Ukrainian drones in Starobilsk, Ukraine. (Head of Russian-controlled Luhansk region Leonid Pasechnik Telegram channel via AP)

A farmer carries a fragment of a Russian drone on an agricultural field near the front line in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Farmers collect fragments of a Russian missile that hit an agricultural field near the front line in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)