Asahi Kasei’s Nonwovens Plant in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, has in March obtained the first Certificate of Renewable Energy Use from the Powered by RE Certification Committee, using Hitachi’s Powered by RE system to track renewable energy usage. The certificate confirms that the production facility for Dinamica artificial suede is powered entirely by renewable energy.
In pursuit of a sustainable society, companies are striving to achieve carbon neutrality across their value chains, leading to growing demand for high-value-added products and services created using renewable energy. Dinamica is an artificial suede that utilizes a three-layer manufacturing process to produce a material with a pleasing texture and versatile design that is widely used in automotive interiors, furniture, IT accessories, clothing, and industrial materials. As part of its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Asahi Kasei has been proactively reducing the CO2 emissions generated during Dinamica’s manufacture.
In 2021, Hitachi developed Powered by RE, a system that visualizes renewable energy usage at individual facilities and services, with the goal of creating a decarbonized society. In 2022, Hitachi launched the Powered by RE Certification Committee, a general incorporated association in partnership with Art & Ecology, that certifies 100% renewable energy usage in production lines, equipment, and services to encourage the expansion of renewable energy usage.
The Powered by RE Certification Committee’s Certificate of Renewable Energy Use guarantees that a production facility’s electricity usage comes entirely from renewable energy sources. Asahi Kasei obtained certification for Dinamica based on data from the energy management system of the Nonwovens Plant production facility, which verified that all of the electricity used was derived from renewable sources. This certification enables Asahi Kasei to inform its customers that its products come from certified production lines that contribute to the fight against global warming.