Asahi Kasei prepares for operations of a smart laboratory for new material developments. At the laboratory, all steps are processed in a fully automated manner. Materials informatics (MI), which is used for developing automated examination equipment, designs examinations of composition and synthesis using accumulated data. After designing, automated equipment works for synthesis and evaluation at high speed. Data obtained from the examinations helps improve the MI learning model. With repeating the process, the learnable system speeds up processing, and becomes able to select from a wider range. For better prediction accuracy, computational-chemistry-based simulation is used too. In FY 2022, the company will conduct PoC at their domestic plants. After confirming the outcomes, they will start actual operations for developing inorganic materials.

JCFA News Letter (No.20) January, 2022/Japan Chemical Fibers Association