Mitsui Chemicals
APAC
Tokyo
,
Japan
Multinational
FOUNDED
1997
HEADCOUNT
10000+
FUNDING
Public
Keywords:
fermentation, bioplastics, biopolymers, organic_acids, commodity_chemicals, specialty_chemicals, metabolic_engineering, biocatalysis
BUSINESS
Founded in 1997 through the merger of Mitsui Petrochemical Industries and Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Mitsui Chemicals is a publicly traded diversified chemicals company (TYO: 4183) reporting FY2024 revenue of approximately USD 12 billion with around 19,000 employees globally. Operations span Mobility Solutions, Healthcare, Food & Packaging, ICT Solutions, and Basic & Green Materials. In May 2025 the company announced it is considering splitting off the Basic & Green Materials business, which houses its bio-based monomer activities.
BIOTECH INVOLVEMENT
Industrial biotech is a small part of the business, anchored by a bio-polypropylene project that uses fermentation-derived isopropanol as the precursor to propylene monomer, developed in partnership with Green Earth Institute using Corynebacterium glutamicum strains. Other activities include AI-optimized fermentation work with Ajinomoto and Chitose, ISCC PLUS mass-balance certified biomass feedstock plastics, and cell culture consumables (InnoCell microplates). Strain development is externalized to Green Earth Institute rather than performed in-house.
TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM
PRIMARY PRODUCTS
Petrochemicals; phenols; polyurethanes; optical materials; some bio-materials