“This investment marks a major milestone in Arkema’s ambition to support the rapid evolution of the battery market,” said Armand Ajdari, chief technology officer.

The expansion strengthens a research network spanning France, China, South Korea, Japan and the United States. It follows the September 2025 opening of a Normandy laboratory focused on solvent-free electrode manufacturing.

Arkema said the project receives support through France’s research tax credit and the France 2030 program.

Coating and Formulation Applications

Arkema’s existing battery-material portfolio includes technologies with direct connections to coating formulation and application. Its separator materials include PVDF and acrylic binders for coatings applied to the membrane between a cell’s electrodes.

The company also supplies PVDF cathode binders, acrylic primers for aluminum current collectors and rheology additives for electrode slurries. Those materials address different stages of cell manufacturing, including adhesion between active materials and substrates, coating uniformity and dispersion stability.

For separator coatings, Arkema offers PVDF materials in powder and latex forms for waterborne and solvent-based processing. Its acrylic rheology products are designed to work with binder systems and help manufacturers control slurry behavior during deposition onto current collectors and separators.

The company’s wider battery portfolio also extends outside the cell to protective coatings, bonding, sealing and assembly applications. These are existing product capabilities rather than new launches announced with the French research investment.

The investment supports development of resins and polymers used in electrode binders, separator coatings and primers, where formulation and application conditions influence manufacturing performance.