Sumitomo Chemical said it has achieved production-scale manufacturing of liquid crystal polymer (LCP) containing monomers derived partly from biomass feedstock and is preparing a mass-production system for the material.

The company also plans to begin supplying customers with samples produced at production scale. Sumitomo Chemical said internal testing confirmed the bio-based LCP has quality equivalent to conventional fossil-feedstock LCP based on heat resistance, fluidity and mechanical properties.

LCP is a high-performance engineering plastic used in electronic devices, automotive components and office automation equipment. The material combines heat resistance and flame retardancy with high fluidity, which enables its use in applications requiring complex molded components.

Sumitomo Chemical established technology to mass-produce the bio-based LCP in June 2025 and subsequently began scaling up the process. The company said production-scale manufacturing has now demonstrated that LCP containing biomass-derived monomers can be produced while maintaining the material's key performance characteristics.

The process uses a segregation approach that keeps biomass and non-biomass feedstocks separate during manufacturing. Sumitomo Chemical said this allows the amount of biomass-derived feedstock in the finished product to be quantified directly. The company is also evaluating a mass-balance approach, in which biomass and conventional feedstocks are combined and the biomass content is allocated across a portion of the resulting production.

The bio-based LCP uses a monomer made entirely from biomass feedstock. Sumitomo Chemical said the biomass-derived content of its existing compounding grade is approximately 30% based on raw-material weight.

Why it Matters

Replacing fossil-derived feedstocks with biomass is one pathway being evaluated for reducing the carbon intensity of chemicals and plastics. The U.S. Department of Energy identifies biomass-derived feedstocks as an alternative to petroleum- and natural-gas-derived materials for producing plastics, chemicals and other industrial products.

Sumitomo Chemical's production-scale demonstration is significant from a process standpoint because it moves the bio-based LCP from mass-production technology development toward customer qualification while retaining the performance characteristics required of an engineering polymer. The company's use of segregated feedstocks also provides a direct method for tracking biomass content through production.