| Kyocera Group develops various environmentally friendly products such as fine ceramics and solar cells. |
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Fine Ceramic Products |
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| Fine ceramics, which are the core products of Kyocera, are used in various fields such as electronic devices, automotive components and industrial machinery due to their outstanding characteristics such as wear resistance, heat resistance, electrical and optical properties, as well as their ability to contribute to the prevention of climate change, resource saving and the prevention of environmental pollution. |
| Single crystal sapphire |
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| Single crystal sapphire is a single crystal of alumina and is used by many LED manufacturers as a base substrate for LED crystal growth (epitaxial). LEDs are semiconductor devices which emit light when charged with electricity and are used in a number of electrical devices including the backlight for mobile phone devices because of their low power consumption, long life and small size. |
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| Piezo electric devices |
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| Piezoelectric devices use piezoelectric ceramic which becomes elastic when an electric field is applied, and is used for high-pressure jetting of fuel in diesel engines and a precise control of injection quantity. The optimization of fuel injection contributes to improved fuel efficiency and curbs hazardous material emissions. |
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| Ceramic filters |
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| Gas filter elements with superior heat resistance and low pressure drop are used in exhaust systems of large garbage incinerating plants and other facilities. As the heat resistance of ceramics enables dust collection under high temperatures, it helps reduce the generation of dioxin. |
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| Molten Aluminum Processing Parts |
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Kyocera's silicon nitride material has superior characteristics in thermal stability, thermal shock resistance, mechanical strength and corrosion resistance. Molten aluminum processing parts* using this material have the following features as compared with conventional cast iron parts: (1) reduction of elution contamination to molten aluminum, (2) longer life and economical improvement, (3) ease of handling (smaller specific gravity), (4) reduction of deposition (lower wettability with molten aluminum), and (5) low energy loss (smaller specific heat).
Silicon nitride is also a ceramic material widely used in automobile engine parts.
* Molten aluminum processing parts are used in aluminum die-cast machines such as hot chambers and cold chambers. |
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Fuel cells |
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The fuel cell, with its high energy efficiency, is expected to be a new source of energy. It should lead to the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which is a suspected cause of climate change. It also releases extremely low amounts of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur oxide (SOx) into the atmosphere.
Kyocera is developing the SOFC cell*1 and stack*2 for the practical use of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and has significantly increased durability by improving the cell electrode structure.
Currently, we are conducting demonstration experiments in an actual load environment for early practical implementation. |
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| *1 |
Cell:a single electric cell (power generation device) consisting of a fuel electrode, electrolyte and air electrode. |
| *2 |
Stack:an assembly of cells. The electromotive force of a single cell is 1V or under and the output is also a few watts. Therefore, cells are connected in series to form a stack for increased voltage and output. |
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LED Lighting |
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| Kyocera creates new environmentally friendly products in a variety of areas, using the fi ne ceramics technology we have acquired since our foundation.
Kyocera has developed LED lighting which has attracted attention as a new type of lighting. Resin is used for the package of the LED lamp. In general the lifespan of LED lighting is said to be about 40,000 hours. The LED lighting of Kyocera has realized an expected life of about 100,000 hours*, which is 2.5 times that of the resin package, by using ceramics for the package of the LED lamp.
Adoption of the method of whitening purple LED light makes it possible to provide natural illuminated space with less color unevenness and this lighting is adopted in various places such as convenience stores and museums, thus contributing to a realization of a low carbon society. |
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Structure of Kyocera LED lamp |
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| *Deterioration test data (under normal environmental conditions) |
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| The adoption of the ceramic substrate and ceramic reflector considerably reduces heat and light deterioration. Results from the running test showed the reduction of output was within 10% for about 40,000 hours. It was confirmed that the expected life exceeded 100,000 hours in the accelerated test. (Based on "expected life of light source: lumen maintenance factor of 70%") |
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Solar Power Generating Systems |
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Kyocera has been engaged in the solar energy business since 1975, providing products in domestic and overseas markets. The total quantity of solar cells which Kyocera has shipped by the end of FY2011 exceeds 2.3GW, or about the equivalent of 17.13 million tons of CO2 emissions reduction (estimated by Kyocera).
In the domestic public and industrial areas, the use of our solar products is expanding in many areas such as large-scale solar power plants at various power companies and installations in schools through the School New Deal initiative.
We will continue to be committed to solutions for environmental issues while contributing to the prevention of climate change by actively expanding our solar energy business. |
| Summary of the award-winning KS2381P-3CFCA |
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The KS2381P-3CFCA is a solar module for domestic public and industrial use which Kyocera manufactures and for which output has been improved to 238.1W by increasing the number of solar cells used from 54 to 60. It is Kyocera's solar module with the highest power output, with about 10% more output per module compared to existing models.
This is a new product with the highest level of output among multicrystalline silicon solar cell modules widely sold in Japan, thus enabling a reduction in construction time and the number of installation mounts for the same size system. |
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| Awarded the Minister of the Environment Award for the Promotion of Measures to Cope with Global Warming in FY2011 |
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The newly developed KS2381P-3CFCA high-power solar module for domestic public and industrial use, won the Minister of the Environment Award for the Promotion of Measures to Cope with Global Warming in FY2011 (*Technological Development / Product Category) sponsored by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan.
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The Minister of the Environment Award for the Promotion of Measures to Cope with Global Warming has been held by the Ministry of the Environment every December during Global Warming Prevention Month,since 1998 as part of a campaign to promote global warming prevention that recognizes individuals and institutions who have made an outstanding contribution to the prevention of global warming. |
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| Installing Kyocera's Solar Module on "Prius" as an Option |
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| Kyocera's solar module was adopted for the optional system "Solar ventilation system*" for the hybrid car "Prius" of Toyota Motor Corporation. About four years ago, Kyocera launched an exclusive project team to develop a highquality solar module to be installed on cars and establish a special production line. In development, we concentrated achievements and know-how accumulated for more than 30 years in the past and ensured a high quality of solar cells that cleared strict standards, such as vibration resistance, heat resistance and impact resistance, as required for on-board components. Also we considered appearance to be one of the important quality items, and we properly made coloring (navy blue) peculiar to solar cells and furthermore, provided an appearance of beautiful unity by making silver electrodes invisible with line coating applied on the glass. |
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A system which moderates temperature rises inside of the vehicle by ventilating the air inside the car with a fan using the solar module as a power source while the car is parked. |
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| Supply of Large-Scale Solar Power Generating Systems |
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| In 2005, Kyocera delivered a 1.2 MW solar power generating system to the Asagiri Water Treatment Plant of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Waterworks (Saitama) as a Japanese pioneer for mega solar systems. Kyocera systems are also adopted in various facilities, such as public offices and public facilities, plant and commercial facilities and schools, in all parts of the country. Japanese electric power companies plan to construct a total of about thirty 140 MW mega solar power stations across the nation by FY 2021. Kyocera has already received orders for solar cells from TEPCO, Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc., and Shikoku Electric Power Co., Inc. In view of the rising momentum of introducing solar power generating systems in Japan, we are exercising our independent construction technology that we have accumulated so far as wel l as the numerous suggestions we have received. We are also able to stably supply high-per formance and high-quality polycrystalline solar cells, contributing to the prevention of global warming. |
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TEPCO Supply of about 13 MW Ohgishima Photovoltaic Station (Tentative name) |
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Kyushu Electric Power Co. Supply of about 3 MW Mega Solar Ohmuta Power Station |
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Shikoku Electric Power Co. Supply of about 1.7 MW Matsuyama Photovoltaic Station |
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| * The above pictures show images of completion. |
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| Energy Creation Effect of Solar Cells |
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| The total amount of solar cells Kyocera has produced and sold equals 2,303MW, and the energy produces by these cells reached a total of 4,279 GWh. The CO2 emission reduction effect after continuing power generation for the next 20 years following installation will be 17,127,000 tons*4. This corresponds to about 19.1% of the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by all forests in Japan per year*5*6. |
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Calculated from the average of expected power at 16 sites of Kyocera Corporation around the country. |
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The estimated used electric energy during production is calculated (system scale 30 MW/year roof mount) with an energy payback period of 2.2 years for a single-year output of less than 100 MW, and the energy payback period of 1.5 years for 100 MW or more and the expected lifetime is 20 years (source: "Survey Research of Solar Power Generation Assessment" FY1997 NEDO Commissioned business working paper (Photovoltaic Power Generation Technology Research Association), March 1997). |
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The estimated electric energy used during production of solar power generation systems that were shipped from 1992 to 2008 was recorded in the year when the products began to generate electricity (Example: The produced electric energy in 1992 was recorded in 1993). |
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360g-CO2 per kWh |
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The CO2 sink by 1 ha (10,000 m²) of forest is 3.57 tons-CO2 (source: Solar Power Generation Introduction Guidebook < Main > 2000 Revised Edition NEDO). |
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Calculated assuming that the forest area in Japan is 251,000 km² (Source: Forestry Agency "Present State of Forest Resources (as of March 31, 2007)"). |
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Cutting Tools |
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| Because of superior strength and durability, Kyocera's ceramic cutting tools are widely used in high-precision machining operations required by the automotive and IT industries. The tools also have the advantage of better surface finishing and long product life. |
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| Recycling of Used Cutting Tools and Tip Cases |
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| Kyocera has been using resources effectively as well as contributing to waste reduction by collecting used tips and the tool holders at the request of our customers, and then recycling them properly as raw materials, RPF (solid fuel) or slag used for roadbed material. |
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Printers and Multi-Functional Products |
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| Color MultiFunctional System |
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KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.'s color multifunctional system, TASKalfa 5550ci, has improved print longevity to 600,000 sheets, or twice as many as existing products*1, by adopting Kyocera's newly developed extra-hard amorphous silicon (a-Si) drum as the core photoreceptor drum, and increasing the print capability between maintenance of peripheral devices to 600,000 sheets, the same as the photoreceptor drum, thus realizing high reliability and stability.
Power consumption has been reduced to 20% of the existing model*2 by using white LED lamps as the document scanning light source, and the start-up time has been reduced to 45 seconds, or more than 10 seconds shorter than the previous model*2.
In addition, as a new function, customizable power saving operation is made possible by adding a "weekly timer" to automatically switch the modes of the device by setting power on/off and operation modes for different days of week or different times of the day.
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Existing model is the color multifunctional system, TASKalfa 552ci series. |
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Comparison between the new model TASKalfa 5550ci and the existing model TASKalfa 552ci. |
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Color Multifunctional System TASKalfa 5550ci |
| KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc. has succeeded in developing bio color toner using the world's first*1 raw material of plant origin for use in printing by printers and multi-functional products. Use of about 30% of plant-derived raw material makes it possible to reduce carbon dioxide generated during disposal and incineration of toner constituents by about 30%*2 as compared with toner using conventional petroleum-derived raw material. Fur thermore, KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc. has succeeded in developing a high-quality product to realize not only environment but also high print quality using its own toner control technology, aiming to commercialize this development product. |
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As of December 9, 2009 |
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The carbon dioxide produced when scrapping and incinerating plant-derived raw material is the same amount of carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere in the growth process of the plant. Therefore, the toner using plant-derived raw material is called "carbon neutral", which will not affect the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. |
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Organic Material |
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KYOCERA Chemical Corp. is positively working on technical themes relating to protection of the global environment while studying, developing and producing various organic chemical materials.
We are promoting the development of environment-friendly materials, such as halogen/antimony-free flame retardant material, lead-free mounting material and low-VOC material, as well as recycling of production materials. Additionally, we are carrying on development of materials contributing to realization of the low carbon society and one such development item is clear encapsulation material for use with LED. |
| Clear Encapsulation Materials for Use with LED |
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As compared with conventional incandescent lamps, LED has a high luminance effi ciency and gives a larger amount of light. Thus, it is effective in reducing CO2 emissions and expected to be a product which will grow very much in the lighting usage market in the future.
LED is an element made of gallium compound and encapsulated with clear resin and the characteristics of the capsulation resin affect its life. KYOCERA Chemical Corp. supplies clear capsulation mater ial s , which are in a diffusive price range and maintain high transparency for prolonged periods, contributing to a realization of the low carbon society. |
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Clear encapsulation materials for LED |
Halogenated elements, such as chlorine and bromine, can produce harmful substances such as dioxin when burned. Their use is controlled according to the chemical substance related regulation in each country of the world, mainly in Europe.
We have developed many halogen-free* materials conforming to these regulations, contributing to a reduction of the environmental load resulting from the use of chemical substances.
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J Based on the standard values of JPCA (Japan Electronics Packaging and Circuits Association) |
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Printed-wiring board sheet materials |
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Semiconductor encapsulation materials |
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Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) is a generic term for organic compounds which become gaseous at room temperature and include substances such as toluene and xylene. VOC is considered one of the causes of suspended particulates in photochemical smog, which has negative health effects.
KYOCERA Chemical Corp. develops and sells styrene-free insulating varnishes used in the insulation of motors. These insulating varnishes have been shown to have VOC levels of 1/50 or less than that of existing Styrene-type products and to have considerably less odor.
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Insulating varnish |
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Sheet-Type Resin |
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KYOCERA Chemical Corp. is actively working on technical themes relating to protection of the global environment while researching, developing and producing various organic chemical materials.
"Torokeru Setchaku Sheet," a sheet-type thermoset resin, enables a shorter production process as it does not require special equipment or any preparatory processes, making work simple with its sheet form, and creating bonds just by heating.
Because it can be used for parts in any shape and material, and can be set under low temperature, it can be used even on low heat-resistant parts.
In addition, it uses a special type of thermosetting epoxy resin which is halogen-free and has superior durability and heat resistance, therefore it can endure reflow soldering after moisture absorption. Because it contains no solvents, there is no concern about solvent emission at setting. |
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Sheet-type thermoset resin
"Torokeru Setchaku Sheet" |
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Connectors |
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As compared with conventional incandescent lamps, LEDs have a high luminance efficiency and provide more light with low power consumption. Therefore it has drawn attention for effectively reducing CO2 emissions.
KYOCERA Connector Products Corp.'s 9608 and 9609 series are connectors for LED lighting and LED backlights which have realized the lowest height in the industry* of 1.4mm, designed so that it does not obstruct the distribution of light.
It also contributes to reduced environmental burden as it complies with the RoHS Directive and is halogen free.
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As of January 25, 2011 (based on research by KYOCERA Connector Products Corp.) |
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| Related Information |
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