TOKYO -- When an experiment fails, scientists head back to the drawing board. Often, data from unsuccessful research is shelved and forgotten, if not discarded altogether. But a couple of Japanese chemical companies -- Sumitomo Chemical and Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings -- have come to the realization that there is value hidden in those reams of information.
Starting in April, Sumitomo Chemical will begin preserving digital records of projects related to the development of electronic materials, regardless of how they turned out. Mitsubishi Chemical will introduce a similar policy for research on highly functional materials in the coming fiscal year.
