Arkema announced on October 1, 2026, a €10 million expansion of its Global Battery Center of Excellence in Oullins-Pierre-Bénite, in France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The project is intended to strengthen the group’s research capabilities for advanced battery materials across the battery value chain.
The center, located within the Rhône-Alpes Research Center, will triple its footprint and receive modernized research infrastructure. Arkema also plans to significantly increase the digitalization of its research and development activities. The expanded site will serve as the company’s global reference platform for developing materials for current and next-generation batteries.
According to Arkema, the investment will allow its R&D teams to prepare for future industrial standards among battery cell manufacturers and accelerate the integration of the company’s materials into customer production processes. Researchers will replicate customers’ manufacturing conditions to anticipate implementation constraints and support the development of batteries with higher energy density, faster charging and improved safety.
The project follows the September 2025 inauguration of an Arkema laboratory in Normandy dedicated to solvent-free battery electrode manufacturing, as well as investments in Asia and the Americas. Arkema said the expansion will connect the expertise developed in France with research centers in China, South Korea, Japan and the United States.
The company’s global R&D network covers multiple parts of the battery value chain and is intended to support collaboration with customers on materials development and process integration. The expanded French center will provide additional infrastructure for this work and strengthen coordination among Arkema’s international research facilities.
The project is supported through the French Research Tax Credit, known as the Crédit d’Impôt Recherche, and funding from the French government under the France 2030 program.
Source: Arkema Global
