Producer
Asahi Kasei
Japan's leading battery separator film manufacturer (Hipore brand); ~25% global share. Only major wet-process separator plant in the Western Hemisphere (Concord, NC).
4
Inputs supplied
4
Goods downstream
5
Facilities
0
Stories
What they make
4 inputs Asahi Kasei supplies
Click an input to see every good that depends on it, every country that produces it, and every other company in the supply chain.
manufactured
Battery separator film →
chemical
Solution styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) →
manufactured
PVDF and polysulfone hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes →
manufactured
Nafion Ion-Exchange Membrane (Chlor-Alkali) →
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Asahi Kasei makes — pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
5 facilities
Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Americas — Concord NC →
USNorth Carolina · manufacturing
Only major wet-process battery separator production facility in the Western Hemisphere; expanding to serve IRA-driven US cell gigafactories (Toyota, Tesla, Panasonic).
Asahi Kasei Kawasaki Aciplex Membrane Plant →
JPKawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture · chemical_plant
Primary Asahi Kasei membrane manufacturing facility; expanding to 2 GW annual capacity by 2028 for green hydrogen PEM electrolyzers (¥35 billion / ~$230M capex, of which ¥11.4B government-subsidized). The Kawasaki expansion is focused on hydrogen, not chlor-alkali. Asahi Kasei targets ~20% market share in major water electrolysis markets by 2030. The hydrogen-focused expansion competes for the same manufacturing capacity as chlor-alkali-grade Aciplex membranes.
Asahi Kasei Microza - Fuji, Japan →
JPPrimary manufacturing for Microza UF/MF hollow fiber membranes; TIPS technology production hub; 1,600+ installed plants worldwide
Asahi Kasei Moriyama Plant (Hipore) →
JPShiga · manufacturing
Flagship battery separator film (Hipore) manufacturing; wet PE process; primary supply for Panasonic/Tesla cylindrical cell chain.
Asahi Kasei Nobeoka Chlor-Alkali Cell Production →
JPNobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture · chemical_plant
Asahi Kasei's Nobeoka site produces chlor-alkali electrolysis cells (the full electrode+membrane assembly) for sale globally — 150+ factories in 30+ countries have adopted Aciplex technology. Asahi Kasei is unique in selling both the membrane AND the complete cell technology/engineering package to chlor-alkali operators, making it a more integrated supplier than pure membrane vendors.
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map — where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Battery Separator Film (Hipore — World Leader)
20%Advanced Materials (Membranes + Polymers)
25%Healthcare (Zoll Medical + Diagnostics)
30%Homes & Construction (Hebel)
25%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains — chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Origin2023
Akira Yoshino, an Asahi Kasei Fellow, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019 (shared with John Goodenough and Stanley Whittingham) for the development of lithium-ion batteries. Yoshino's contribution at Asahi Kasei in the 1980s was assembling the first practical rechargeable Li-Ion battery: a carbon anode paired with a LiCoO2 cathode (Goodenough's invention), with a polyethylene separator (made from Asahi Kasei's polymer expertise). The separator — which prevents contact between anode and cathode while allowing lithium ion transport — was based on Asahi Kasei's existing polyethylene film technology. Yoshino's 1985 prototype and subsequent refinements enabled commercial Li-Ion batteries (Sony commercialized the first product in 1991 using licensed technology). Asahi Kasei, the company that helped invent commercial Li-Ion batteries, is also the world's leading manufacturer of the separator film inside those batteries. Thirty years later, Asahi Kasei's Hipore separator film is in the batteries of EVs, smartphones, and the same consumer electronics applications that Yoshino's original prototype enabled.
Asahi Kasei Corporation ↗Did you know2023
Asahi Kasei's polymer membrane expertise spans four completely different technology applications from the same polymer science foundation: (1) Li-Ion battery separator film (Hipore) — wet-process polyethylene microporous membrane preventing internal battery short circuits while allowing lithium ion transport; (2) Chlor-alkali ion-exchange membrane (Aciplex) — fluoropolymer membrane selectively permeable to sodium ions, enabling electrochemical production of chlorine and caustic soda; (3) Hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes — for municipal drinking water treatment, hemodialysis blood purification, and industrial wastewater reuse; (4) The same Asahi Kasei now owns Zoll Medical, which makes AEDs — the emergency cardiac devices that run on lithium batteries. The company whose polymer chemistry contributed to Li-Ion battery invention (Yoshino/Nobel Prize) makes the separator inside those batteries, makes the membranes that treat drinking water and clean patient blood in dialysis, AND owns the AED manufacturer whose defibrillator shocks use battery-stored energy to restart stopped hearts. One Japanese polymer company is embedded in energy storage, clean water, kidney dialysis, and emergency cardiac care.
Asahi Kasei Corporation ↗Chokepoint2023
The Asahi Kasei Concord, NC plant is the only major wet-process battery separator production facility in the Western Hemisphere. In 2023, Asahi Kasei announced a significant expansion at Concord specifically to serve US IRA-driven gigafactories. Qualifying a new separator supplier takes 6–18 months of cell-maker testing plus UN 38.3 transport certification.
Asahi Kasei ↗