The Mitsubishi Chemical Group (the MCG Group) acquired certification of ISCC PLUS—an international certification system for sustainable products—for its prepreg products using plant-derived resin manufactured at Mitsubishi Chemical Tokai Plant (Aichi). In February 2025, the MCG Group commenced sample work for the BiOpreg #500 series, including carbon fiber prepreg and glass fiber prepreg that are manufactured utilizing the mass balance approach* based on this certification.

Prepreg is an intermediate material in the form of a sheet of carbon fiber or glass fiber impregnated with matrix resin. The MCG Group has been selling prepreg products in which part of the epoxy resin used for impregnation has been replaced with a plant-derived product based on our unique material design technology. However, the new BiOpreg #500 series is manufactured using a plant-derived epoxy resin based on the mass balance approach at Mitsubishi Chemical Tokai Plant (Aichi). The series has acquired ISCC PLUS certification, and we have started sample work. This new product has the same performance as conventional petroleum-derived prepreg, and can be handled and molded in the same way.
 
Starting with sports and leisure applications, we will aim to have this product in use in mobility applications, such as interior and exterior materials, as well as industrial applications. In the mobility sector, in particular, there is demand to reduce the environmental impacts of products throughout their entire life cycle, against a backdrop of environmental regulations. The BiOpreg #500 series can contribute to resource conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gases throughout the life cycle of automobiles by using plant-derived raw materials to reduce vehicle weight.
 
Through the acquisition of this certification and the provision of certified products, the MCG Group will continue to contribute to the social implementation of sustainable products that use recycled and biomass raw materials.
 
*The mass balance approach is a method of controlling a value chain in which, when multiple raw materials (e.g., a petroleum-derived raw material and a plant-derived raw material) are mixed to manufacture products, the percentage of sustainable raw material used (i.e., the plant-derived raw material) can be allocated to the same percentage of any given product.
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation pledges and declares that it will comply with the requirements of ISCC PLUS certification in accordance with the latest regulations of ISCC.