Nippon Paper Industries Co. plans to build a factory to mass produce a high-strength, low-weight material known as nanofiber as soon as next year, part of a push to bolster revenue as Japan's shrinking population and the shift to online content threatens sales of newspapers and books.
"We are pinning our hopes on the material as our biggest growth potential," said Masayuki Kawasaki, who heads Nippon Paper's cellulose nanofiber business promotion office. Annual sales of products that use the plant fibers could amount to billions of dollars in 15 years, he said.
Cellulose nanofiber is five times stronger than steel and one-fifth the weight. Since it is derived from organic materials like wood or orange peel, it is plentiful and environmentally friendly. Applications could range from slowing the melting of soft-serve ice cream to smartphone screens, to replacing steel in car bodies. Japan's trade ministry has said the market may be worth ¥1 trillion ($8.2 billion) by 2030.