Arkema opens new battery dry coating lab in France
Chemical firm Arkema has officially opened its battery dry coating laboratory, located at the Cerdato research centre in Normandy, France. This facility complements Arkema’s global network of R&D labs dedicated to the battery industry and reflects Arkema’s strategic commitment to pioneering sustainable and high-performance solutions.
The new laboratory is fully dedicated to exploring and advancing the dry coating process for battery electrodes. This innovative approach represents a major shift in electrode manufacturing. By eliminating the need for solvent evaporation, it reduces energy consumption and lowers the carbon footprint of battery production. The process also simplifies manufacturing steps, making it a more resource-efficient and environmentally responsible alternative to traditional wet coating methods.
The laboratory is equipped with two complementary technologies that enable versatile and precise electrode fabrication. The first is direct calendering, which allows for the production of uniform and consistent electrode layers with controlled thickness. The second is electrodeposition, a technique that in addition enables advanced material layering and customisation, offering greater flexibility in electrode design and performance optimisation.
Arkema adds it is active in this field with a comprehensive portfolio of advanced materials ideally suited for dry coating applications, including: Kynar PVDF grades produced via emulsion polymerization, offering adhesion and electrochemical performance, Incellion acrylic polymers and monomers, providing flexibility and processability, and polyamides, delivering mechanical strength and thermal stability.
With the accelerating shift toward electric mobility and energy storage, battery technologies represent a major growth driver for Arkema. The group innovates in this field through a global network of dedicated laboratories, coordinated through the Christian Collette Centre in the Lyon area (France), with R&D sites in China, South Korea, Japan and in the US all focused on developing advanced materials across the entire battery value chain.
Since its start-up in late 2024, the Battery Dry Coating laboratory has become a hub for collaborative innovation, with major cell makers and automotive players, aimed at accelerating the industrial adoption of dry coating technologies.
