SOLVAY
More PVDF capacity in France / Strong demand for EV batteries
 The Solvay facility in Tavaux, France (Photo: Solvay) |
As the market for lithium batteries used in electric and hybrid vehicles continues to boom, another leading supplier of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) has unwrapped plans to increase capacity for the high-tech polymer used in separators and cathode binders for the power sources.
The announcement by Solvay (Brussels; www.solvay.com) that it will spend EUR 300 mn to increase the production of its Solef PVDF in Tavaux, France, comes on the heels of news that French rival Arkema (Colombes; www.arkema.com) plans to add more capacity than planned during the expansion of its Chinese plant in Changsu, Jiangsu (see Plasteurope.com of 04.02.2022).
When Solvay’s added production starts up – currently slated for December 2023 – capacity at Tavaux will rise to 35,000 t/y, making it the largest PVDF plant in Europe, the Belgian group claimed. The facility currently has capacity of 16,200 t/y, according to Plasteurope.com’s Polyglobe database (www.polyglobe.net). Parallel to this, Solvay is raising output at its own Changsu plant, with the upgrade expected to be onstream in mid-2022 (see Plasteurope.com of 04.12.2019).
Polyglobe shows global PVDF capacity at 80,000 t/y, with nearly 31,000 t/y in additional output currently under construction, including the projects just announced by Solvay and Arkema. Solvay also has production in the US, where Dyneon also is a small manufacturer. In Asia, Japanese player Kureha operates three PVDF plants.
According to Solvay, “unprecedented demand” for PVDF reflects the thermoplastic fluoropolymer’s ability to optimise energy storage efficiency by increasing the batteries’ energy density, safety, and power. With the trend to electrification continuing to accelerate, the group said its Materials business segment is poised to grow sales to the automotive market to more than EUR 2.5 bn by 2030 from around EUR 800 mn in 2021.
PVDF’s popularity in high-tech vehicles extends beyond overland methods of travel. Solvay notes that its output also supplied “Solar Impulse”, which in 2010 became the world’s first manned solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the world (see Plasteurope.com of 09.07.2010).
The announcement by Solvay (Brussels; www.solvay.com) that it will spend EUR 300 mn to increase the production of its Solef PVDF in Tavaux, France, comes on the heels of news that French rival Arkema (Colombes; www.arkema.com) plans to add more capacity than planned during the expansion of its Chinese plant in Changsu, Jiangsu (see Plasteurope.com of 04.02.2022).
When Solvay’s added production starts up – currently slated for December 2023 – capacity at Tavaux will rise to 35,000 t/y, making it the largest PVDF plant in Europe, the Belgian group claimed. The facility currently has capacity of 16,200 t/y, according to Plasteurope.com’s Polyglobe database (www.polyglobe.net). Parallel to this, Solvay is raising output at its own Changsu plant, with the upgrade expected to be onstream in mid-2022 (see Plasteurope.com of 04.12.2019).
Polyglobe shows global PVDF capacity at 80,000 t/y, with nearly 31,000 t/y in additional output currently under construction, including the projects just announced by Solvay and Arkema. Solvay also has production in the US, where Dyneon also is a small manufacturer. In Asia, Japanese player Kureha operates three PVDF plants.
According to Solvay, “unprecedented demand” for PVDF reflects the thermoplastic fluoropolymer’s ability to optimise energy storage efficiency by increasing the batteries’ energy density, safety, and power. With the trend to electrification continuing to accelerate, the group said its Materials business segment is poised to grow sales to the automotive market to more than EUR 2.5 bn by 2030 from around EUR 800 mn in 2021.
PVDF’s popularity in high-tech vehicles extends beyond overland methods of travel. Solvay notes that its output also supplied “Solar Impulse”, which in 2010 became the world’s first manned solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the world (see Plasteurope.com of 09.07.2010).
08.02.2022 Plasteurope.com [249594-0]
Published on 08.02.2022
German version of this article...