NGK SPARK PLUG established a joint venture concerning Solide Oxid Fuel Cell (SOFC) by four companies in the Morimura Group

Four companies in the Morimura group (NORITAKE CO., LIMITED, TOTO LTD., NGK INSULATORS, LTD., and NGK SPARK PLUG CO., LTD.) concluded a memorandum of understanding regarding the establishment of joint venture for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Four companies in the Morimura group (NORITAKE CO., LIMITED (President：Hiroshi Kato, hereafter NORITAKE), TOTO LTD. (President: Madoka Kitamura, hereafter TOTO), NGK INSULATORS, LTD. (President: Taku Oshima, hereafter NGK), NGK SPARK PLUG CO., LTD (President: Shinichi Odo, hereafter NGK SPARK PLUG)) jointly concluded on a memorandum of understanding regarding the establishment of a joint venture (JV) for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and agreed to make a concrete plan for the JV establishment.

SOFC, which each company possesses its technology, is expected to realize a high-efficiency power generation system even at small scale. Moreover, it is expected as one of measures to solve energy and environmental problems in various fields such as home use, business and industrial use and so on. Development of SOFC is with high technical difficulty, such as using ceramic as the core material of power generation and operating in a high temperature reactive atmosphere. The main issues for commercialization and practical application of SOFC are low cost and high durability; however, research and development of lifetime evaluation and its corresponding technologies takes a long time to be
realized. Moreover, it requires a considerable effort and cost until the commercialization.

Therefore, four companies in the Morimura Group will work together to maximize the JV’s corporate value in order to increase the profitability of the JV.

c.f.
a Strategic Road Map for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, published June 2014 and revised March 2016 by METI
http://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2016/0322_05.html
 

1. Outline of the JV Company (planned)

2. About History of the Morimura Group

NORITAKE, TOTO, NGK, and NGK SPARK PLUG, the companies represent Japan’s ceramic industry, are members of Morimura group. Our root is the Morimura Gumi (currently Morimura Bros., Inc.), which was founded by Morimura Ichizaemon the sixth and his younger brother Toyo.

Joint Venture press conference Image 1
Joint Venture press conference Image 2
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