At Fakuma 2026, Asahi Kasei will present a broad range of high-performance plastics and material solutions designed to address key challenges facing the automotive and industrial sectors.

The exhibits will highlight how advanced polymer materials can contribute to more efficient and sustainable manufacturing while supporting the evolving requirements of connected and autonomous mobility, automotive interior design, and increasingly electrified industrial systems.

Automotive applications

A key focus of Asahi Kasei's presence will be materials that enable new approaches to automotive component design and production. In the Automotive Exhibition Corner, the company will showcase solutions for automotive radar, interior components, and lightweight polycarbonate glazing applications.

XYRON is a modified polyphenylene ether (mPPE) resin that combines dimensional stability, lightweight characteristics, and advanced metal plating performance. At Fakuma 2026, Asahi Kasei will showcase coated slotted waveguide antenna samples for automotive radar applications. By enabling lightweight, highly precise, and cost-efficient antenna designs, XYRON supports the next generation of connected and autonomous vehicles.

Metallized slotted waveguide array antenna made of XYRON mPPE.

For automotive interior, Asahi Kasei's styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer streamlines the production by enabling both the skin and foam layers to be formed from the same material family. This replaces traditional production method by using multiple materials and separate manufacturing processes for the skin, foam, and structural core layers.

Through core-back injection molding, the layers can be produced in a single process, while strong chemical bonding between them eliminates the need for additional adhesives. The result is a simplified material structure that reduces manufacturing complexity, lowers material usage, and enhances the recyclability of interior components.

Asahi Kasei is currently developing a novel water-based coating system that enables polycarbonate as a glass substitute in automotive front-, rear-, and side-window applications. Polycarbonate coated with this technology achieves ECE R43-compliant abrasion resistance and the required weather resistance for automotive windscreens. This opens opportunities for the overall reduction of vehicle weight. At Fakuma 2026, Asahi Kasei will display an automotive front window made of polycarbonate and coated with Asahi Kasei’s hard coating.

Hard-coated PC window in Asahi Kasei's concept car AKXY2.

Industrial applications

For industrial applications, Asahi Kasei will showcase solutions that address requirements, including flame retardancy, tracking resistance, high-temperature performance, dimensional stability, lightweight construction, and sustainable material concepts.

LEONA offers a broad portfolio of polyamide and PPA materials designed for demanding industrial electrical applications. At Fakuma 2026, Asahi Kasei will present flame-retardant PA66 and high-CTI tough PPA solutions for glow-wire connectors, transformer components, SMT connectors, and power modules. Combining excellent flame retardancy, high tracking resistance, mechanical durability, and reliable high-temperature performance, LEONA enables safer and more compact electrical systems.

The mPPE XYRON provides a unique balance of electrical insulation, flame retardancy, lightweight properties, and dimensional stability for industrial applications. Exhibits will include solutions for data center busduct systems, battery cell holders, and PCR-PS+PPE sustainable material concepts. These applications demonstrate how XYRON contributes to improved electrical safety, weight reduction, design flexibility, and sustainability across various industrial sectors.

TENAC-P is an all-in-one polyacetal binder designed for Metal Injection Molding (MIM) applications, offering excellent flowability, low odor during catalytic debinding, and reduced void formation during thermal debinding. Asahi Kasei will showcase binder materials for MIM processes through sintered parts, highlighting their contribution to improved molding productivity and part quality.