Japan's eco-technology to take flight

Mikiko Miyakawa Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer

Japan has finally freed itself from the shackles of its "lost decade" from the 1990s to the early 2000s--a period during which the country was battered by a series of financial crises and a stagnant economy.
During that decade, many Japanese lost the confidence they gained during the "economic miracle" that transformed the country from the 1960s to '80s.
But now that Japan's society and economy have matured as a postindustrial nation, Japanese are rediscovering their strengths and finding new ways to make their country shine.
In the New Year's "Currents Special," The Daily Yomiuri examines the latest energy-saving technologies, the nation's flourishing blogging culture, and its cutting-edge small and midsize firms, all of which can be regarded, in some aspect, as "No. 1 in the world."
The sliding door of a huge, capsule-shaped autoclave opens, ready for the soon-to-be "baked" parts of a Boeing 787 to enter along a conveyor belt at Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.'s Nagoya No. 1 plant in Yatomi, Aichi Prefecture.
It is difficult when seeing the sheet of black material about to enter the autoclave to imagine how it will eventually become an integral part of the groundbreaking "Dreamliner."
But Boeing Co.'s super fuel-efficient aircraft, which utilizes carbon fiber to make it considerably lighter, more durable and less prone to corrosion than its aluminum cousins, is set to make its maiden flight this year.
It already looks like being a hit, with the company reporting that the long-haul, midsized 787 had already amassed nearly 800 orders, faster than any other commercial airplane in history and way ahead of rival Airbus' A-350, which is still under development.
With skyrocketing crude oil prices hitting the aviation industry hard, and as international pressure grows to cut carbon emissions, Boeing says worldwide orders have passed the 787-mark.
Though the plant where the molded parts of coiled carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) are forged by the extreme temperatures and pressure of the autoclave is surprisingly quiet, the rush of orders has meant it is operating around the clock.
"It's very difficult to automate the whole process in this factory," says Masanori Tokuda, manager of KHI's Commercial Aircraft Section. "So a lot of the work is carried out manually."
KHI, one of three Japanese heavy industry firms involved with the Dreamliner, produces about 10 percent of the 787's parts--the main landing gear wheel well, the main wing fixed trailing edge and part of the forward fuselage.
While conventional aluminum airplanes require a large number of nuts and bolts during assembly, the use of carbon fiber requires fewer such parts as the material can be molded into shape as necessary. "The use of carbon fiber revolutionalized the manufacturing process," Tokuda says.
KHI, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. will together be producing 35 percent of the parts for the 787, prompting some Japanese commentators to dub the Dreamliner a "quasi-domestic aircraft."
MHI is supplying the wing box, marking the first time Boeing has outsourced the production of this key part, while FHI is providing the center wing box.
In addition to the three heavy industry firms, a number of other Japanese firms are involved in the project. Affiliates of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., for example, are supplying the cabin service system and the in-flight entertainment system, while Bridgestone Corp. will provide the aircraft's tires.
"We're calling this 'made with Japan,'" says Naoko Masuda of Boeing International Corp. in Tokyo.
She says the firm is confident about using CFRP, as 12 percent of its 777s are made of the material. However, with 50 percent of the 787 in terms of weight to be constructed from CFRP--about 35 tons--the Dreamliner is taking use of the material to new levels.
Boeing chose Toray Industries, Inc., its long-time partner and the world's largest carbon fiber manufacturer, as the sole supplier of the material for its latest aircraft.
The emphasis on fuel efficiency has proved far more alluring to airlines than the speedy Sonic Cruiser that Boeing floated, but later abandoned because of lack of interest.
"Most customers preferred the idea of fuel efficiency to speed," Masuda says.
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Carbon fiber's long history
Japan is a world leader in the carbon fiber industry, producing and selling about 70 percent of the product.
The U.S. inventor Thomas Edison is said to have first produced carbon fiber in 1879. But it was not until Japanese researcher Akio Shindo developed polyacrylonitrile (PAN) carbon fiber in 1961 that the material found its way into common industrial use. Today, most carbon fiber being used is PAN.
Following joint research with Shindo, Toray began commercially producing the product in 1971, followed by Hercules (now Hexcel Corp.) in 1972, Toho Rayon Co. (now Toho Tenax Co.) in 1973 and Mitsubishi Rayon Co. in 1983.
Although the material was used in the 1970s for sporting goods such as golf club shafts and fishing gear, it was a while before it caught on for aircraft.
According to Yoshitaka Yamagata of Toray, the big technological breakthrough for the firm's carbon fiber product came in the late 1980s, when it created reinforced prepreg, a shock-absorbent material formed by impregnating carbon fiber with an epoxy resin composition.
"This technology made it possible to apply carbon fiber for use as primary structural components in aircraft," Yamagata says.
The success of the material was made possible by the Toray management's decision to continue investing in research and development of the once money-losing product out of a belief that it was the material of the future, Yamagata says. The firm also manufactures acrylic fibers, an essential technology required for carbon fiber as the quality of the finished product depends on the fineness of the denier.
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Domestic influence
All Nippon Airways Co. is another Japanese firm that had a hand in the 787 project, this time in influencing the design.
Osamu Shinobe, ANA's executive vice president and head of the 787 Launch Project, says the company decided to introduce the aircraft to its fleet because of its high fuel efficiency, lower maintenance costs and midsize yet long-haul capacity suitable for both domestic and international flights.
Shinobe says many airlines are torn between the pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while at the same time increasing the number of destinations to improve sales. He believes the greater fuel efficiency offered by the 787 could hold the key to resolving these apparently conflicting aims.
"We're trying to cut CO2 emissions as much as possible by introducing aircraft with the best possible fuel efficiency," he says.
As the Dreamliner project began to take shape, Boeing, faced with a dearth of new orders for its aircraft and having had to shelve two earlier commercial jet programs, found itself at a crossroads. Masuda says the 787 would not have become a reality if it were not for ANA's early commitment to the project.
In April 2004, ANA ordered 50 Dreamliners, the biggest-ever initial order for a new Boeing model.
As a "launching customer," ANA became closely involved in the project, meaning that it was able to get a number of special features installed in the planes it ordered, including electric toilet warmers.
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Good for business and the planet?
Under the Kyoto Protocol, which was agreed on in 1997, industrialized countries are obliged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2 percent from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012, with Japan expected to cut 6 percent. Therefore, the signatories should begin this year to honor their commitments under the protocol.
Though emissions from international aviation are not subject to the accord, countries are still compiling reports on aviation emissions for the office of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In 2005, about 21.3 million tons of CO2 were emitted by international flights fueled in Japan.
With such vast amounts of carbon in mind, efforts have been intensifying to curb CO2 emissions from aircraft by making them subject to restrictions under a post-Kyoto framework.
EU environment ministers agreed late in December to impose CO2 emissions curbs on airlines flying to or from the 27-nation bloc from 2012.
Looking ahead, the big issue at July's Group of Eight summit meeting at Lake Toya in Toyakocho, Hokkaido, will be how best to formulate a post-Kyoto framework.
Japan wants to use its chairmanship of the G-8 this year to take a lead in convincing the world that it is possible to reduce emissions through energy-saving technologies.
The government also intends to showcase the nation's achievements in the field, and explain how Japan, which has few energy resources of its own, has become a world leader in energy conservation since the oil shocks of the 1970s.
Hiroaki Takaoka, an official at the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, believes that if other nations can achieve efficiency rates per gross domestic product as high as Japan's, global energy consumption could be reduced significantly.
But he believes that if this goal is to be achieved, everyone will need to be on board.
"If there's to be a new international framework to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, major greenhouse gas emitters such as the United States, China and India, will have to be involved," he says. "So it's important to build a framework where these countries will be able to join."
Another ministry official says the government plans to allocate about 63 billion yen in the fiscal 2008 budget on developing innovative technologies with the aim of halving global CO2 emissions from 1990 levels by the year 2050.
On Friday, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed to establish centers in major Chinese cities to introduce Japanese energy conservation and environmental technologies.
The government is undoubtedly hoping that Japan's existing energy-saving technology, combined with the development of cutting-edge materials such as carbon fiber, offer the nation a chance to stimulate industry while still contributing to the fight against global warming.
(Jan. 1, 2008)