Arkema inaugurates next-generation acrylic acid purification unit in Carling

Arkema has opened a next-generation acrylic acid purification unit at its Carling site in France. The facility is expected to enhance the Group’s competitiveness in Europe while helping reduce the chemical industry’s carbon footprint. The investment forms part of Arkema’s decarbonisation programme and supports its climate ambitions.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Arkema Chairman and CEO Thierry Le Hénaff and European Commission Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné.

The ceremony coincided with the General Assembly of the Critical Chemicals Alliance, where European industry leaders and policymakers discussed industrial sovereignty, competitiveness and decarbonisation.

“With an investment of nearly €150 million, this new unit represents one of Arkema’s largest industrial projects in France. It will contribute to the Group’s ambitious climate plan, underpinned by a dedicated investment program supporting Arkema’s decarbonization, with a cumulative amount that could reach €400 million over the 2022-2030 period,” stated Thierry Le Hénaff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arkema.

“Europe must keep its chemical industry. There can be neither industrial sovereignty nor strategic autonomy if we allow the essential building blocks of our economy to leave. Carling is showing the way forward: nearly €150 million invested to produce in Europe, using less energy and generating less carbon, while building on decades of industrial know-how. This is exactly the model we want to promote: decarbonizing without deindustrializing, investing in our regions, and making our industrial hubs the driving forces of our future,” commented Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy.

Arkema’s Carling site is a major European producer of acrylic monomers used in performance coatings, adhesives, water treatment and other advanced materials. The new purification unit improves energy efficiency by 25% and is expected to cut the site’s operational carbon intensity by 20%. Its technology also optimises resource and waste management while reducing solvent consumption. The investment strengthens Carling’s position as a high-performing, lower-carbon production site and supports Arkema’s role in the low-carbon acrylic materials market.

Source: Arkema