Canatu and DENSO announced they have started up their new, jointly developed carbon nanotube reactor at the Canatu factory in Finland. The new high-performance reactor was developed to scale-up carbon nanotube film manufacturing to meet increasing demand to address global ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) market with more competitive products, the companies said.

Through this development, Canatu and DENSO added they can triple the throughput of Canatu carbon nanotube (Canatu CNT) films while maintaining record-high performance. The joint development program focused on improving the reactor design, process controls and serviceability.

Carbon nanotubes hold immense potential. Their unparalleled properties are increasingly suitable for a range of applications, the companies said. However, one key obstacle impeding the widespread application of carbon nanotubes in future products is the challenge of controlling their growth and variation during mass-production. Through joint development, Canatu and DENSO said they have significantly progressed in scaling and controlling the chemistry of Canatu’s proprietary CNT synthesis process. This enables large-scale production of Canatu CNT films with consistent quality for highly engineered solutions. 

“Product quality and stable supply chains are the most important things in the automotive business and what we DENSO always give top priority. We are very excited about the achievement of our joint team. We believe this significant step will make our product more valuable and competitive,” said Toshihiko Muraki, head of passenger vehicle business unit of Thermal Business Group, DENSO.