Producer
Tanaka Chemical Corporation
Japanese specialty chemicals company (HQ Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture); major producer of nickel hydroxide and nickel-based chemicals for NiMH battery cathodes. Tanaka Chemical (not to be confused with Tanaka Precious Metals/Tanaka Kikinzoku) supplies spherical nickel hydroxide to Japanese battery manufacturers including FDK (Fujitsu battery brand) and GS Yuasa. Fukui Prefecture is an industrial chemical cluster in Japan — the same region produces optical fibers, specialty resins, and electronic chemicals.
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Nickel Hydroxide (NiMH Battery Cathode)
60%Nickel-Based Specialty Chemicals
30%Inorganic Chemical Products
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Did you know2023
Tanaka Chemical supplies spherical nickel hydroxide to Japanese NiMH battery makers (FDK and GS Yuasa) -- the same nickel hydroxide chemistry that forms the positive electrode in Toyota Prius hybrid batteries and in consumer AA and AAA NiMH rechargeable cells. The NiMH battery supply chain (for automotive HEVs) and the consumer rechargeable battery market (for portable electronics and power tools) share Tanaka Chemical as a common precursor material supplier from Fukui Prefecture. An earthquake along the Fukui coastal zone (which faces significant seismic risk from the active faults along the Sea of Japan coast -- the same tectonic system that caused the 2011 Tohoku earthquake) or a major industrial accident at Tanaka's Fukui facility would simultaneously affect NiMH battery production for Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles AND consumer rechargeable battery production for Sanyo/Panasonic and FDK.
Tanaka Chemical Corporation ↗Origin2023
Tanaka Chemical Corporation is headquartered in Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture -- a mid-sized Japanese coastal city on the Sea of Japan that is disproportionately important in Japanese industrial materials production. Fukui Prefecture hosts Japan's largest concentration of specialty fiber producers (nylon, acrylic, polyester textile fibers in Echizen-Sabae area), the majority of Japan's eyeglass frame manufacturing (Sabae City -- producing 96% of Japan's domestic spectacle frames), optical fiber preform production, and a cluster of specialty chemical companies of which Tanaka Chemical is one. This geographic concentration is characteristic of Japanese industrial districts: specialty chemical and materials expertise accumulated around shared R&D, supplier networks, and skilled labor in a specific region, making Fukui disproportionately important in multiple unrelated specialty material supply chains simultaneously.
Tanaka Chemical Corporation ↗