Syensqo Breaks Ground on US Facility for EV Battery Materials
On Thursday, Syensqo broke ground on its new battery-grade polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) facility in Augusta, Georgia, US. When complete, the site will be the largest PVDF production facility in North America, the company said.
PVDF is a thermoplastic fluoropolymer that is used as a lithium-ion binder and separator coating in batteries. Specifically, the new site will produce Syensqo’s Solef PVDF product.
According to Syensqo, the site is estimated to produce enough PVDF for more than 5 million EV batteries per year at full capacity, or 45% of expected PVDF demand required by 2030. The Augusta facility is part of a joint venture between Syensqo and Mexican chemical company Orbia.
"Today, as Syensqo inaugurates the development of this facility in Augusta, we are translating our ambitions to help protect our planet and advance humanity into action. We are proud to contribute in shaping the future of energy storage to unlock the market potential of electrification and boost the adoption of EVs in the US,” said Ilham Kadri, CEO of Syensqo. “The groundbreaking of our new facility marks a significant milestone for the growth of our company and in the continued growth of the American EV industry,” Kadri added.
As part of the US Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for EVs and the electrical grid, Syensqo was awarded a $178 million grant from the US Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains for the construction of the new facility.
