Arkema to invest $20mn to increase PVDF capacity in North America by 15%

PARIS: Arkema (Paris: AKE) has announced plans to expand its PVDF production capacity at its Calvert City, Kentucky facility by 15%. The $20 million investment aims to support the growing demand for locally manufactured high-performance resins for lithium-ion batteries, as well as the expanding semiconductor and cable markets.

The Calvert City plant, with its long history in PVDF manufacturing, will focus on innovative PVDF grades designed to enhance the manufacture of electric vehicles (EV) and energy storage systems with improved sustainability.

The capacity expansion is expected to align with the ramp-up of production at North American gigafactories and the significant expansion of local semiconductor capabilities. The startup is planned for mid-2026.

“We are proud to take this step forward hand-in-hand with our customers,” said Laurent Tellier, Senior Vice-President of Arkema’s High Performance Polymers and Fluorogases.

“It demonstrates our commitment to develop our businesses on a global scale, by investing in each region to support local strategic industries. We will continue to invest proactively to support this growth, matching closely the reality of the evolution of the demand.”

Arkema is a global leader in PVDF supply, with production sites in the USA, China, and France. All three sites have recently seen significant investment and capacity increases to meet the evolving demand.

Leveraging its expertise in materials science, Arkema offers a portfolio of cutting-edge technologies to address the growing demand for new and sustainable materials.

With the ambition to become a pure player in Specialty Materials, the Group is structured into three complementary segments: Adhesive Solutions, Advanced Materials, and Coating Solutions, which accounted for 92% of Group sales in 2023. The Group reported sales of approximately €9.5 billion in 2023 and operates in 55 countries with 21,100 employees worldwide.