Elkem receives funding for silicone expansion

ROUSSILLON, France—France has awarded Elkem A.S.A. funding for its silicone expansion plans in the country through the government's "France Relance" recovery plan.

Elkem's$40 million (€36 million) project to expand its upstream silicone intermediate units in Roussillon was named as one of the winners of the "resilience" program of the $111 billion recovery plan launched by President Emmanuel Macron, the manufacturer announced Feb. 17.

"Developing and sustaining high-performance silicone production capacities on our territory is a matter of technological sovereignty for France and for the European Union," said Agnès Pannier-Runacher, France's minister delegate for industry.

High performance silicones, the French minister said, are "strategic inputs" for many industrial sectors in the country.

"In this sense, I welcome Elkem's investments in its units upstream of the Péage-de-Roussillon platform, to which we are providing our support through the France Relance plan," she added.

Elkem did not provide further details on the size of the financial support.

The Norwegian materials supplier disclosed plans to expand the Roussillon site, in southern France, in October last year.

At the time, the company said the project would increase production capacity for silicone intermediates at the plant from 20,000 metric tons per annum (20 ktpa) to 100 ktpa.

The investment will improve cost position and environmental performance through debottlenecking, better energy efficiency and upgraded wastewater treatment, it added.

Elkem said the project will further develop and expand its specialty business in EMEA and Americas, where it expects respective growths of 6.5 percent and 5.9 percent through 2025.

In addition to the Roussillon investment, Elkem is also expanding its downstream production process in specialty silicones units in Saint-Fons, in Lyon.

The project includes a series of investments aimed at increasing production capacities, automation, optimizing product quality and purity, and improving the environmental performance of certain key units.

The investments will be carried out in 2022 and 2023 with a range of $16.7 million to $22.3 million, Elkem said.

The expansion, said the supplier, will respond to the growth and changes in demand in several high-tech markets aligned with the challenges of sustainable development.

"The growth of silicones demand is supported by the green transition," said Frederic Jacquin, senior vice president for Elkem's Silicones division.