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Solvay wants US protection for Georgia EV plastics materials plant

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Executives at a 2024 groundbreaking for the Georgia plant making PVDF resins.

The U.S. government is considering limiting Chinese imports of a plastic used in electric vehicle batteries, a move that resin maker Solvay SA said is needed to protect sizable investments in a new polyvinylidene fluoride plant being built in Georgia.

The U.S. International Trade Commission announced Feb. 14 that it was investigating a patent infringement complaint brought by Solvay against several Chinese competitors, accusing them of exporting PVDF resin to the U.S. in violation of Solvay patents.

Several of the Chinese firms, including Sinochem Lantian Co. Ltd., disputed the allegations.

But Solvay and its spinoff company Syensqo argued in a petition to the U.S. ITC that import restrictions are needed to protect a PVDF thermoplastic resin plant that it's building in Augusta, Ga., using a grant of nearly $180 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.

"With the DOE's help, Syensqo has invested substantial resources for domestic production and distribution of its patent-protected, battery-grade PVDF called Solef," Solvay said. "These significant investments in Solef's development and domestic industry were made with the understanding that the patent protecting the technology underpinning Solef would prevent competitors from unfairly importing infringing products."

Solvay said the planned PVDF resin plant in Alpharetta is part of $5 billion in U.S. government grants to help develop the battery supply chain and electrical grid as part of the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.

"Protecting complainants investment in the Georgia plant will promote the substantial domestic production complainants and its federal and local partners have planned," Solvay said.

The USITC investigation, a so-called Section 337 review, is looking at whether the Chinese firms violated a Solvay patent with their materials, and it seeks to limit imports of the allegedly infringing material in the U.S.

Besides Sinochem Lantian in Hangzhou, the U.S. ITC complaint lists Inner Mongolia 3F Wanhao Fluorochemical Industry Co. Ltd. in Fengzhen; Zhejiang Juhua Co. Ltd. in Quzhou; Zhejiang Fluorine Chemical New Material Co. Ltd. in Shaoxing; and China Hubei Fluorine New Materials Co. Ltd. in Qianjiang.

The U.S. ITC accepted Solvay's complaint but said it had not made any rulings on the merits of the case.

Sinochem Lantian argued that Solvay was venue shopping its intellectual property complaint, after related patent infringement claims that Solvay and its business units had brought in China was not going well for the European plastics maker.

"The Chinese litigations are not only struggling, they are ending badly for complainants," Sinochem wrote in a U.S. ITC filing. "In recognition of this, complainants have apparently started shopping their claims. They now come to the ITC with patent infringement claims on the related patent that has the same claim limitations as the one that was litigated unsuccessfully in China."

Solvay said the patents at issue in the two countries are different.

Sinochem also argued that Solvay was trying to protect a domestic U.S. industry that does not exist, since the Georgia plant is not yet open and may not finish before 2028.

As well, Zhejiang Juhua told the trade commission that restricting PVDF imports would harm U.S. consumers by exacerbating shortages and raising prices.

"There had been a persistent shortage of PVDF in the U.S. in recent years, and it is projected that the shortage would continue in the future," Juhua said. "Thus, the requested remedial orders will distort prices and competition, as well as negatively impact U.S. consumers."

It said limits on PVDF resin would make other U.S. industries less competitive, including electric car manufacturing.

"Higher prices of batteries would drive up EV costs, further deceasing competitiveness of EVs manufactured in the U.S.," Juhua said. "Furthermore, continued shortage of PVDF or persisted high cost of such material would drive up the cost for medical devices and water purification plants, which negatively impact the U.S. consumers."

But Solvay countered that PVDF shortages "are not a real concern" because there are other large makers of PVDF in the U.S. and around the world who can supply the materials to companies making EVs and other products.

If the U.S. government does not act, Solvay said its Chinese rivals could gain an unfair advantage in the U.S. market.

"It is expected that [the Chinese firms], if allowed to continue their infringement, could gain an unfair competitive advantage in the domestic market in the near term," Solvay said.

The original complaint was brought to the US ITC Solvay Specialty Polymers, USA LLC in Alpharetta, Syensqo SA of Brussels and Solvay Specialty Polymers Italy SpA.

* Source : https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/solvay-pushes-us-probe-chinese-rivals-protect-georgia-ev-plastic-plant

* Edit : HANDLER