January 21, 2025 – Mitsubishi Chemical and Chaintope Complete Pilot Test for Chemical Recycling Supply Chain Traceability System
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation has recently announced the successful completion of a pilot test for a supply chain traceability system for chemical recycling in collaboration with Chaintope. The test results demonstrate that critical information, such as the type of waste plastic used as recycled raw material, can be managed and shared immutably across a supply chain comprising multiple companies.
Since 2023, Mitsubishi Chemical has been actively involved in a project aimed at establishing a digital analytics foundation focused on developing evaluation techniques and utilizing evaluation information to create a high-quality and stable recycling system for plastic reclaimed materials used in automotive parts. This project extends beyond the automotive sector, with plans to expand the accumulated technical expertise to other industries like home appliances, fostering synergies. With commercialization as the goal, Mitsubishi Chemical designed a supply chain solution for chemical recycling targeting acrylic resins and conducted an empirical test on the corresponding traceability system, aiming to leverage blockchain technology to build a highly transparent and reliable supply chain.
For the pilot test, Mitsubishi Chemical adopted Tapyrus, a blockchain developed by Chaintope, and together they constructed the traceability system. The test revealed that the category information of waste plastics, whether generated from post-industrial or post-consumer sources and used as recycled raw materials, could achieve significantly enhanced transparency and reliability through blockchain technology, with immutable management.
According to AsiaMB, amidst the growing consumer demand for traceability and digital product passports (DPPs), manufacturers are required to demonstrate their environmental initiatives related to products and materials, visualizing and sharing information such as the source of recycled raw materials and quality confirmation histories. The success of this test validates the effectiveness of blockchain technology in managing and sharing supply chain information, providing crucial support for advancing the commercialization of chemical recycling.
The Mitsubishi Chemical Group expresses its commitment to deepening related initiatives, addressing social issues such as chemical recycling and traceability, and accelerating the green transition.