November 8, 2023: Solvay, the chemical multinational, said on November 2 it will build an EV battery materials plant in Georgia as part of a joint venture project with Orbia.
Construction of Solvay’s battery-grade polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) facility (for an undisclosed sum), will be supported by a $178 million grant from the US energy department’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains.
The grant was awarded as part of the US Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for EVs and the electrical grid that promote regional industry and material security.
PVDF is used as a lithium-ion binder and separator coating in EV batteries and the Georgia plant will provide enough for more than 5 million EV batteries a year at full capacity, the partners said.
The finished PVDF product, it is claimed, can extend the range of EVs, increase battery life and improve battery safety.
Solvay and Orbia intend to have two plants in the southeastern US — the Georgia one for finished products and another in Louisiana for raw material conversion.
Both plants are to be operational in 2026.