Arkema Acquires a Stake in Verkor Capital and Accelerates Its Batteries Strategy in Europe

COLOMBES, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

Arkema (Paris:AKE) becomes a shareholder and technological partner of Verkor, a French start-up specialized in the production of high performance batteries. Arkema, a key player thanks to its cutting-edge materials and innovative solutions that it provides in batteries, in particular for electric vehicles, is thus strengthening its development in batteries and clean mobility.

Arkema contributed several million euros to Verkor’s recent €100 million round of fundraising, which will enable the construction of the Verkor Innovation Center near Grenoble, then the launch of the first Gigafactory dedicated to battery production whose construction is expected to start in 2023. The Verkor Innovation Center, which should be operational in 2022, will provide a collaborative space to optimize smart industrial processes and create new generations of batteries.

Arkema is thus joining an ambitious project involving close technological collaboration with leading partners such as Renault Group, EQT Ventures, EIT InnoEnergy, Groupe IDEC, Schneider Electric, Capgemini, Tokai Cobex, and Demeter. The Group will bring its wide range of high-performance materials and products for batteries and will thus participate in setting up an integrated industrial battery production chain in Europe that will enable to meet the expected strong growth in demand.

The development of next generation batteries is a priority area of development for Arkema, which aims to become a Specialty Materials leader offering innovative and sustainable solutions to meet its customers’ challenges. Promoting the development of electric mobility, this project is in line with Arkema’s CSR strategy in particular to support European climate targets.

Arkema draws on its unique expertise in materials science to offer a portfolio of leading technologies that address the ever-growing demand for new, sustainable materials. Arkema’s ambition is to become a major player in Specialty Materials by 2024. It is currently structured as three complementary, resilient, and highly innovative segments dedicated to Specialty Materials—Adhesive Solutions, Advanced Materials, and Coating Solutions—accounting for 82% of the Group’s turnover, in addition to a well-positioned, competitive Intermediates segment. Arkema offers cutting-edge technological solutions to meet the challenges of new energies, access to water, recycling, town planning, and mobility, among other things, and fosters a permanent dialogue with all its stakeholders. The Group reported a turnover of around €8 billion in 2020 and operates in some 55 countries, with 20,600 employees worldwide. www.arkema.com