Syensqo is at Fakuma 2024 with a new name and new materials.
At Fakuma, Syensqo highlighted a specialty grade of Amodel PPA resin for electric vehicles. The flame-retardant grade is ideal for high-voltage battery pyrofuses, according to Nicolas Batailley, specialty polymers marketing manager: "Customers want more safety and more efficiency from electric vehicles."
Other EV-related materials from Syensqo include a Ryton PPS resin for laser welding and recycling in electric actuator housings and Ajedium PEEK film, which enhances the efficiency of electric motors.
In sustainability, Syensqo showcased its Echo portfolio, a line of sustainable solutions featuring bio-based, recycled and mass balance-certified raw materials. This includes the world's first ISCC Plus mass balance-certified polysulfone resins. Recent Echo materials have been used in consumer goods and household appliances.
"Our sustainable materials aren't developed for dedicated applications," Batailley said Oct. 15. "We can make what a customer needs."
The Brussels-based materials firm was formed in 2022 when it was spun off from Solvay. Batailley said the split from Solvay has allowed Syensqo to focus more on growth and R&D.
"That's been the main benefit," he said. "We can do more with research and innovation."
Syensqo includes Solvay's former Specialty Polymers unit as well as growth platforms in batteries, green hydrogen, thermoplastic composites, renewable materials and biotechnology.
Syensqo had sales of $7.4 billion in 2023. The firm employs more than 13,000 at 62 industrial sites and 12 research centers worldwide.
In April, Syensqo broke ground on a battery-grade polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) resin plant in Augusta, Ga. Officials said the Georgia plant will be the largest PVDF production facility in North America, supplying the growing needs of domestic energy storage markets. PVDF is a fluoropolymer that's used as a lithium-ion binder and separator coating in batteries. Syensqo makes the material under the Solef brand name. Officials said the material allows EVs to go farther on each charge, extends battery life and improves battery safety.
The site is expected to make enough PVDF for more than 5 million EV batteries per year, or 45 percent of expected PVDF demand needed by 2030. The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Syensqo a $178 million grant to help build the new plant.
The Augusta plant is part of a joint venture between Syensqo and Mexican specialty chemicals maker Orbia Advance Corp. SAB de CV.