Innovative Composite Center (ICC) at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology. Source | ICC
An initiative led by international trade consultant SBS systems for business solutions GmbH (Berlin, Germany), in cooperation with Composites United e.V. (Berlin) as well as Japan-based Kanazawa Institute of Technology’s Innovative Composite Center (ICC), GCC (Gifu) and the National Composites Centre (NCC, Nagoya), is creating the opportunity for synergies between Japanese and Germany companies.
From Oct. 20-24, 2025, a delegation of 12 selected German companies — specializing in innovative lightweight materials, production and process technologies for composites, components and related technologies — will be visiting Kanazawa, Gifu and Nagoya. The aim of this visit is to establish new collaborations and partnerships between Japanese and German companies, bringing German expertise and offerings to Japanese players in the composites and lightweighting materials market.
The event program encompasses two 1-day presentation and networking conferences in Kanazawa and Nagoya, featuring expert lectures and pitch presentations that will showcase both Japan and Germany’s expertise, innovations and technologies.
Japanese companies, industry and research representatives and government officials are invited to attend the conferences, scheduled for Monday, Oct. 20, at the ICC in Kanazawa, and Thursday, Oct. 23, at the NCC in Nagoya. This events presents an opportunity to explore potential areas of cooperation and exchange valuable information and knowledge between Japanese and German counterparts.
In addition, the German companies will participate in company visits in Kanazawa, Gifu and Nagoya from Tuesday, Oct. 21, to Friday, Oct. 24. These meetings will take place directly at the premises of Japanese companies.
This presents a valuable opportunity for the German delegation to explore new business opportunities and identify potential synergies and partnerships with their Japanese counterparts.
“This event has been made possible thanks to the longstanding collaboration of over 10 years between CU (formerly CFK-Valley) and ICC. In the past, this partnership also led to successful international joint research projects under the BMBF’s ‘Internationalization of Leading-Edge Clusters, Future Projects and Similar Networks (InterSpiN)’ program, started in 2017,” says professor Uzawa, director of ICC. “Through activities like this, ICC is proud to serve as a gateway connecting the German and European composites industries with Japan, and to contribute to the mutual growth of both industrial and technological development.”
To schedule individual B2B meetings, please contact Yoshihiro Saito (ICC):
icc-spt@mlist.kanazawa-it.ac.jp, and Bastian Brenken (Composites United): bastian.brenken@composites-united.com.
The event is free of charge for Japanese participants. Further information and registration can be accessed at germantech.org/german-business-delegation-japan-lightweight-technologies/.
This project is supported the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).
About the ICC
Since its establishment in 2014, the Innovative Composite Research and Development Center (ICC) has become Japan’s largest R&D center for composites, promoting collaboration with institutions and companies to expand composite material applications. ICC’s well-equipped environment includes large-scale molding facilities, a chemical lab for matrix resin development and advanced evaluation equipment, enabling development from raw materials to prototyping, evaluation and simulation.
The center supports both academic research and corporate product development under its “Under-One-Roof” concept, welcoming corporate researchers and fostering collaboration until the final stages of product development. Annually, more than 60 researchers from 50 companies join ICC’s membership program, which also offers networking and technological trend-sharing activities through monthly forums and events. These efforts are supported by 20 researchers, engineers and a Strategy Planning Team assisting with R&D planning, funding and operations.
AloJapan.com