Arkema announces €50 million expansion of organic peroxide production in China

Paris, France – Arkema announces a two-and-a-half-fold increase of its organic peroxide production capacities at its Changshu site in China. This investment of around €50 million will enable the Group to support its Asian customers in fast-growing markets, particularly in renewable energies.

Luperox® brand organic peroxides are used as niche additives fulfilling a critical mission as reaction initiators for a wide range of polymers and in particular play an important role in the energy transition as vital components in the manufacture of photovoltaic panels.

With this significant investment in Changshu (China), Arkema will support the strong expansion of Asian producers serving a fast-growing global market.

This expansion of the Group’s organic peroxide activities in China complements the 70% increase in its organic peroxide capacity in India announced in 2022, as well as the doubling of capacity at the Luperox® 101 plant in Günzburg (Germany) which started up this summer. These projects had notably enabled the industrial validation of several new and more efficient technologies, significantly reducing the environmental footprint of the organic peroxides business. The effective industrial start-up of the new Changshu plant expansion, for which the foundation stone was laid in September, is expected in early 2025.

“With this investment in China, we are strengthening our position as a major producer of niche additives for sustainable development, with an industrial expansion that will incorporate our most efficient technologies in terms of environmental footprint” said Laurent Tellier, Senior Vice President of Performance Additives.