Global specialty chemicals company contributing polymer, composites, and recycling expertise to 44 H2020 projects across materials and circular economy research.
Arkema is a major French specialty chemicals and advanced materials company, producing high-performance polymers, coating solutions, and organic peroxides used across automotive, electronics, construction, and energy sectors. In H2020 projects, they contribute industrial-scale expertise in polymer chemistry, membrane technologies, and materials recycling — acting as the industrial partner who bridges lab-scale research to manufacturing reality. Their work spans from developing next-generation battery materials and perovskite solar cells to pioneering chemical recycling processes for plastics like PMMA and polyolefins.
Central theme across MMAtwo (PMMA recycling/depolymerization), MultiCycle (solvent-based recycling of composites and multilayers), POLYNSPIRE (plastic recycling with vitrimers), and RESYNTEX (textile waste to chemical feedstock).
FORTAPE (UD composite manufacturing), MASTRO (intelligent bulk materials for transport), RECOTRANS (hybrid metal-thermoplastic composites), and NANORESTART (nanomaterial-enhanced polymers).
FIVEVB (5V lithium-ion with silicon anodes), eCAIMAN (electrolyte/cathode/anode improvements), IMAGE (next-gen battery manufacturing), and JOSPEL (thermal management with PMMA).
BIOCONCO2 (microbial CO2 conversion from steel industry), BioRECO2VER (biological CO2 routes), and COSMOS (bio-based oleochemicals from non-food crops).
SIMPLIFY (their largest-funded project at EUR 1.16M, microwave/sonication at pilot scale), COSMIC (continuous sonication/microwave reactors training network), and POLYNSPIRE (microwave-assisted recycling).
HAPPINESS (haptic printed interfaces), ATLASS (printed organic transistors), and PRESTIGE (printed functional materials for high-end goods).
In their early H2020 period (2014-2018), Arkema focused on nanomaterials, advanced battery chemistries, electric vehicle components, and graphene-based innovations — essentially pushing the frontiers of new material development. From 2018 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward circular economy, plastics recycling (PMMA, polypropylene, multilayer packaging), process intensification via microwave technology, and ecodesign principles. This mirrors the broader industry pivot from "make better materials" to "make materials circular and sustainable."
Arkema is doubling down on chemical recycling technologies and sustainable polymer processing, making them a strong partner for any consortium working on end-of-life plastics, circular manufacturing, or green chemistry scale-up.
Arkema exclusively participates as a partner — never as coordinator across 44 projects — which is typical for large industrial companies that bring manufacturing expertise and scale-up capabilities rather than research leadership. With 613 unique consortium partners across 34 countries, they operate as a broadly connected industrial node, joining diverse consortia rather than repeatedly working with the same academic groups. This means they are easy to integrate into new consortia and accustomed to multi-partner collaboration, but expect them to contribute applied R&D and industrial validation rather than drive the research agenda.
Arkema has collaborated with 613 unique partners across 34 countries, making them one of the most broadly networked industrial participants in H2020 materials research. Their reach spans all major EU member states with no narrow geographic preference, reflecting their global industrial footprint.
Arkema brings something rare to H2020 consortia: they are a top-10 global specialty chemicals company that actively engages in pre-competitive EU research, not just as a name on the proposal but across 44 projects with real material contributions. Their dual strength in both creating advanced polymers and recycling them makes them uniquely valuable for circular economy projects that need an industrial partner who understands the full lifecycle. Few companies can offer pilot-scale validation for both polymer synthesis and depolymerization under one roof.
