Between May 23rd to 25th, Thierry Le Hénaff, Chairman and CEO of Arkema Group, visited China for the first time since Covid-19.
In addition to reviewing Arkema’s business development in China, the primary focus was to explore future opportunities for developing innovative materials locally.
Arkema has been operating in the Chinese market for almost 40 years, and it occupies a crucial position in the Group's growth strategy, Recent focus on green transformation and other policies including high-level opening up have brought positive development opportunities for Arkema and greatly boosted our confidence in the Chinese market. We will continue to increase our investment in China and pioneer innovation so to fulfill our long-term commitment to the market, local customers and partners, as well as support China's sustainable development progress.
Expanding investment in China, steady growth of high-growth projects
Accompanied by the China management team, Thierry Le Hénaff, Chairman and CEO of Arkema Group, and Marc Schuller, COO of Arkema Group, visited Guangzhou, Changshu and Shanghai with a focus on key industrial projects located at the Sartomer’s Nansha plant and Arkema Changshu site.
From the end of last year, Arkema has accelerated the pace of investment in China, and successively carried out capital increase projects totaling 1 billion RMB in Minhang District of Shanghai, Zhangjiagang, and Changshu. Centered around the three complementary business units of Adhesives, Advanced Materials and Coating Solutions, Arkema has established itself in several high-growth potential fields. In China, Arkema is committed to prioritizing the development of high-growth projects rooted in sustainable development. These include increasing PVDF fluoropolymer production capacity by 50% at the Changshu site to serve the lithium battery market; building a new polyamide 11 powders plant to support Symphony, Arkema’s largest industrial project in Singapore; doubling the production capacity of UV curable resins at the Sartomer’s Nansha plant, supporting the growing electronics and renewable energy sectors.
In addition, the photocure advanced liquid resin project at the Nansha plant is proceeding on-track. This project will enable the production capacity of Sartomer® specialty acrylate monomers to increase by 60%, which will support the development of electronics, 3D printing, adhesives and inkjet printing industries across Asia.
Enhancing local research and innovation, servicing customers globally
During this trip, Thierry Le Hénaff also met with Zhou Qindi, Secretary of Changshu Municipal Party Committee and other leaders to discuss new opportunities and ways to join up efforts toward double carbon policy as well as green and sustainable development. Arkema’s Changshu Site is today the Group’s largest industrial platform worldwide and this September will mark the 10th anniversary of Changshu R&D Center and the 25th anniversary of Changshu Site. Mr. Le Hénaff took the opportunity to spend time with employees during this visit.
According to Mr. Le Hénaff, Arkema Group’s steady growth and development would not be possible without the ongoing efforts from the team here in the China market as well as the support from customers and partners. "Beginning the journey to a more sustainable world means embracing innovative materials. I am very pleased to see that our China team also shares in this belief and are supporting the Group to realise our vision and strategy. We will continue to build upon our innovative expertise and seek out opportunities to collaborate with our customers and partners so we can together create value and build a more sustainable future."
He added that innovation is deeply rooted in Arkema and that is what sets it apart. The company is strongly positioned for the future and remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering an even more sustainable world by offering its ongoing support to help solve some of the most pressing societal and environmental challenges through high-performance and innovative materials. More than 90% of the Group's patents are connected to sustainable development. And with nearly €300 million allocated to R&D annually and moving forward, Arkema is expected to invest €700 million devoted to industrial projects every year to support future development.
With a focus on harnessing recent innovative capabilities and capturing opportunities, Arkema has opened up a series of high value-added projects across a number of fields, including batteries, new energy, more environmentally friendly coatings and building energy conservation, as well as in the sports and electronics markets. All these sits at the heart of Arkema’s long-term development strategy in China. Moreover, by bolstering local production and R&D capabilities, it supports the Group’s overarching goal to effectively balance its global business
Leading the Group's transition to a low-carbon future from the inside out
Low-carbon and sustainable development are increasingly becoming the norm, and for Arkema, its climate plan is at the core of its growth strategy. The Group is focused on mobilizing all departments across the value chain to embrace the positive role they play in driving this forward. By turning green responsibility into a driving force for internal action, the business is well-placed in supporting society’s decarbonization challenge.Recently, Arkema which had already strengthened its climate plan, is setting new, even more ambitious targets by 2030: Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 48.5% compared with 2019, and Scope 3 emissions will be reduced by 54% compared with 2019. The new target has been approved by the organization Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
By 2022, the Group has already achieved a 34% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions compared to 2019, and a 49% reduction in Scope 3 emissions compared to 2019. Moreover, the Group expects to invest €400 million by 2030 to realize its ongoing decarbonization plan.
Under the guidance of China’s various policies including the "Carbon Peak, Carbon Neutral" policy, the Group's climate plan continues to actively deploy projects covering energy conservation, emission reduction and low-carbon energy transformation. These will be achieved through technological innovation, process improvement, green energy substitution as well as measures focused on reducing carbon emissions. Looking toward the future, Arkema will continue to uphold the belief of "innovating materials for a sustainable world". It will continue to pioneer and innovate here in the China market so to promote local green transformation processes as well as open up new opportunities aimed at further deepening local cooperations and increasing local investments.