Currently in the world, various social issues such as global warming, depletion of energy resources, and ever-increasing waste are piling up.
We at Mitsubishi Materials are facing these social issues head on and aiming to contribute to the building of a “prosperous,” “recycling-oriented,” and “decarbonized” society by focusing our energy on research and development of new materials in four fields: next generation vehicles, IoT & AI, urban mining, and clean energy & decarbonization.
Everyone engaged in research and development at Mitsubishi Materials continue to create original products and technologies with a strong sense of mission “Materials create the future.” Here, we will introduce some of their voices.

Over the years, Mitsubishi Materials has developed competitive technologies. We want to share with you how we are using this technological strength to contribute to the resolution of social issues.

With the evolution of autonomous driving, electrification of various systems, and the introduction of wireless networks, the use of driving sensors, electrical components for vehicle control and equipment, and high-current circuits is increasing. The copper products used in these areas are required to have high strength, high electrical conductivity, and be able to resist spring deterioration. Mitsubishi Materials’ MSP series copper alloys fulfill these requirements, and are currently adopted as the material for small terminals, high-frequency terminals, and high-voltage terminals. Although hidden from view, these materials increase the functionality of automobiles and contribute to the spread of next generation automobiles.
In addition, MOFC-HR, an oxygen-free copper with the world’s highest standard in strength and heat resistance, has been successfully developed. It is the optimum material for electrical components for EV and next generation energy systems that require high-current and high-heat dissipation capability in harsh environments.

With the advancement in the electrification of cars, connectors for electric parts have been reduced in size and multi-polarized. Because of this, the connector terminals have an increased connection area and there have been problems inserting the connectors due to friction.
Normally, copper alloys for connector terminals have their surface treated with reflow tin plating for highly reliable electrical connections, but there were limitations in how much frictional resistance could be reduced.
In response to this issue, Mitsubishi Materials applied the Group’s own unique technology and succeeded in creating PIC Plating (PIC: Precise Interface Control) that possesses both the ability to reduce frictional resistance and electrical connection reliability. A new way to reduce the coefficient of dynamic friction of plated surfaces by about 30% compared to the original method was born.

Cutting tools with the sharp-edged parts set at machine tools are used to process hard metals. In order to improve wear and heat resistance with longer tool life, we cover the surfaces in (Al, Ti) N (aluminum titanium nitride*) coating. However, it has been thought that there were limits to the improvement of wear and heat resistance.
Mitsubishi Materials decided to exceed these limits. Through the new coating process made with our unique technology, we succeeded in developing Al-rich (aluminum rich) coating, a coating that lasts more than four times as long as conventional products, even in high temperature environments. By enabling higher cutting speeds and more efficient processing than conventional products, the new products drastically cut down on processing time and are contributing to manufacturing in various industries.
*Coating made from Al (aluminum), Ti (titanium), and N (nitride)

The advancement of the function of automobiles  and electronic devices causes the machines to heat up, causing heat dissipation problems to rise. This has increased the need for thermal conductive materials. These materials are placed between high-temperature components, such as lithium-ion battery modules and electronic circuit boards, and low-temperature heat-dissipating components, such as heat sinks, to facilitate the heat transfer over. Mitsubishi Materials had set out to develop “thermal conductive putty,” a new thermal conductive material. Since it is soft like clay, it can adhere to a component’s surface. So, unlike the conventional thermal conductive rubber sheets, “thermal conductive putty” can be expected to reduce the thermal resistance generated at the contact surface. The development is currently ongoing toward the practical application of this technology.