Mitsubishi Chemical
Develops and supplies high-performance polymer materials for additive manufacturing, including filaments, powders, and photopolymers for industrial 3D printing applications.
- CEO / Founder
- Jean-Marc Gilson
- Team Size
- 10000+
- Stage
- Public
- Total Funding
- Publicly Traded
- Latest Round
- IPO
Technology & Products
Key Products
3Diakon™ PMMA filament; PA12 nylon powders for SLS; PEEK and PEKK high-performance filaments; Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers; UV-curable photopolymers; FGF (Fused Granulate Fabrication) pellets
Technological Advantage
Chemical engineering moat: deep knowledge in polymer synthesis and formulation enables materials with superior mechanical properties (e.g., 3Diakon™ offers 90% light transmission similar to injection-molded PMMA). Verified through partnerships with printer OEMs (Ultimaker, Stratasys) and customer case studies.
Patent position
Mitsubishi Chemical filed 27 patent families in 2022–2024 versus 48 in 2019–2021, a 44% fall versus an 8% fall in tracked AM filings in the same patent offices. Material extrusion’s share rose from 62% to 72%. AMPulse analysis
- Filing momentum
- 27 families filed 2022–2024, 48 in 2019–2021 (-44%); all tracked AM filings in the same offices -8%
- Process mix, 2019–2021 → 2022–2024
- Material extrusion 62% → 72%Powder bed fusion 29% → 24%
- Focus, 2019–2021 → 2022–2024
- Materials 83% → 87%
- Filed in
- JP 44%WO 25%EP 20%US 18%CN 9%
- Named competitors, AM patent families
- Covestro 109SABIC 120
114 AM patent families in total. Recent years are still being published, so read a filing change against the same-office figure.
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Provides chemically engineered materials that enable production-grade 3D printing with superior mechanical properties, thermal stability, and sustainability credentials compared to standard filaments.
How They Differentiate
Superior optical clarity in transparent materials (3Diakon™ achieves 90% light transmission vs. 80-85% for standard transparent filaments); broader portfolio of specialty polymers including carbon fiber composites; stronger focus on sustainability with bio-based materials.
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Industrial manufacturers, aerospace/defense companies, automotive OEMs, medical device manufacturers
Industry Verticals
Aerospace; Automotive; Medical; Consumer Goods; Industrial Manufacturing
Competitors
BASF; Covestro; SABIC; Solvay
Growth & Milestones
Growth Metrics
AM materials segment estimated at ~$500M revenue (2025); parent company revenue ¥4.6 trillion (~$30B USD) in FY2023
Major Milestones
1933: Founded as Nissan Chemical Industries; 2005: Rebranded as Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation through merger; 2017: Launched 3Diakon™ for additive manufacturing; 2023: Established dedicated 3D printing materials portal (3dp.m-chem.com); 2024: Announced FGF engineering challenge to advance pellet-based AM
AM patents
AM-relevant patents linked to this company.
- Patents
- 133
- Granted
- 31
- Families
- 114
Leading domains: process (133), material (63), equipment (44)
Filings by year: 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 21
- 粉末床溶融結合法用樹脂組成物、成形体および成形体の製造方法36143251|2024143251 · JP
- FILAMENT FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL SHAPING2022138954 · WO
- 3次元造形材料、樹脂成形体およびその製造方法07848690|1995848690 · JP
- POLYAMIDE-BASED 3D PRINTER MATERIAL20210040318 · US
- MATERIAL FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING, AND RESIN MOLDED BODY USING SAME2023149561 · WO