Arkema (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) announced an investment plan of around €300 million over five years in the biosourced polyamide 11 chain. This major investment will enable the group to increase its polyamide 11 global production capacities by 50%. The project falls in line with Arkema’s strategy to speed up its development in advanced materials, one of the key pillars of its future growth, sustained by a unique portfolio of innovations around the main sustainable development trends.
Over the next five years, Arkema plans to invest in Asia, building a world-scale plant dedicated to producing Rilsan PA11 biosourced polyamide from castor oil. The new plant, which will produce both the amino 11 monomer and its polymer, Rilsan PA11, should come on stream in late 2021. It will enable Arkema to increase by 50% its Rilsan® PA11 (powder and granule) production capacity. The investment also includes a 50% increase in global production capacities for Pebax, in particular Pebax RNew of which amino 11 is a key component. Pebax RNew is a biosourced polyamide elastomer with unique properties such as energy return and flexibility, earmarked in particular for the sports and electronics markets.
With this upcoming plant, Arkema will have a second amino 11 monomer production site, complementing its historical site in Marseille, France.
Rilsan PA11 is said to be the only high performance 100% biosourced polyamide to qualify for the most exacting applications in particular in the electronics, 3D-printing and automotive markets, where it serves as a metal substitute.