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Notice regarding investment in Spiber Co., Ltd. and a basic business partnership agreement in the field of manufacturing structural protein materials


2020.01.16
EBARA Corporation

I would like to inform you that EBARA Corporation (hereafter: EBARA) has invested in Spiber Co., Ltd. (hereinafter: Spiber) (total investment amount 1 billion yen) and concluded a basic business alliance agreement to rationalize the manufacturing process of structural proteins*1 materials developed by Spiber and to consider their use in EBARA Group products.

1. Background

EBARA aims at continual improvement of product performance by securing the highest technology development capability in each business domain in the "management policy". "We will aggressively incorporate the seeds of technologies that exist outside the company and bring products with technical features that are not found in competitors to the market.""" As stated. The EBARA Group will contribute to the efficiency of manufacturing processes by entering into a business alliance agreement with Spiber, which possesses outstanding technologies in the development and manufacture of structural protein materials. In addition, we will advance discussions to improve the EBARA Group's existing products using structural protein materials.

2. Overview

With this agreement, EBARA will leverage the technology of the EBARA Group and work together with Spiber to achieve the following.

① Streamlining the manufacturing process to achieve mass production of structural protein materials
② Enhancing functionality by utilizing structural protein materials as alternative materials and additives for EBARA Group products

3. Future developments

Together with Spiber, EBARA will challenge changes in the materials industry and pursue revolutionary product functionality improvements and application expansion in the industrial machinery field.

[Spiber Overview]

Spiber is a startup company established in 2007 with the aim of industrializing structural protein materials which are expected to be sustainable next-generation core materials. In the future, we anticipate expansion into industry, and we are constructing a large-scale fermentation plant in Thailand for full-scale mass production of structural proteins, and we are aiming for commercial production in 2021.

Company NameSpiber Co., Ltd.
RepresentedDirector and Representative Executive Officer Kazuhide Sekiyama
Founding2007/9/26
Business contentNew generation biomaterial development
URLhttps://www.spiber.jp/opens in a new tab

※ 1 Spiber structural proteins

Spiber proprietary fermentation process does not rely on petroleum or other fossil resources as its main raw material. Due to its manufacturing process characteristics, Spiber has named the entire structural protein it produces Brewed Protein. Similar to the evolutionary process, the material features can be designed according to the application by repeatedly improving at the molecular level. It has the potential to play a major role in the industry in terms of the need for micro-plastics and anti-animal products, and the need for lighter weight in the transportation sector.


By addressing our medium-term management plan and key ESG issues, the EBARA Group aims to further improve our corporate value based on our management policy and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).