About Daikin Chemical France

Our Company

Daikin Chemical France S.A.S. („DCF“) is a subsidiary of Daikin Chemical Europe GmbH („DCE“), a high-performance fluorochemicals supplier for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. These two entities are part of the Chemicals Division of Japanese-based group Daikin Industries Ltd („Daikin“).

Daikin Industries Ltd - Organization chart

In France, DCF has been based at Arkema’s Oullins-Pierre-Bénite site in the Rhône department since 2004. Our main product is fluoroelastomer, a high-performance rubber material used mainly in the automotive sector, but also in other strategic sectors such as aerospace, energy and microelectronics. Our presence in France enables us to be as close as possible to our customers, most of whom are European.

At the beginning of 2024, we also started processing fluoroelastomer base-polymers into pre-compounds at our Oullins-Pierre-Bénite site. This activity, which was previously carried out in the Netherlands by our sister company Daikin Chemical Netherlands, was transferred to France for operational reasons.

Indeed, pre-compounds are produced by mixing our base fluoropolymer products with other substances required for the curing process to meet the required properties by our customers (high elasticity, resistance to heat and humidity, etc.). Producing this mixture at the Pierre-Bénite site, in the immediate vicinity of the fluoroelastomer production facility, offers a number of operational and technical advantages, including simplifying the production process for our pre-compound and eliminating the need to transport fluoroelastomer between France and the Netherlands.

Today, we have 70 employees working at our site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Our products

High-performance materials

We produce three types of material:

Base
Fluoroelastomer Polymer Processing
Aids (additives) Fluoroelastomer
pre-compound

We produce these materials using reliable and safe industrial processes, in accordance with current regulations and management systems voluntarily implemented (environment: ISO 14001; occupational health and safety at work: ISO 45001). Throughout these processes, we apply the best available treatment techniques (BAT) to control emissions into water and air from the substances manufactured and used on our site.

Use in high reliability applications for critical sectors

Gaël Marseille, President of Daikin Chemical France, explains in the short videos below what DCF produces and what these products are used for.

To summarise, fluoropolymer-based products specifically improve the performance, longevity, resistance, etc. of the objects in which they are incorporated, as illustrated by the examples below. This performance of fluoropolymers enables a number of industries to reduce their environmental impact during the production and use of their final products. Fluorochemicals also reduce waste in chemical processes.

Automotive parts

Electric vehicle equipment

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment

Oil & Gas industry

Automotive parts

Turbocharger hoses

What are we talking about?
A flexible multi-layer hose with a fluoroelastomer inner layer. The vast majority of combustion engines are equipped with turbo-charger hoses.

What is it for?
The hose has to pass the compressed air from the turbocharger to the intercooler. It must withstand very high temperatures (up to 230°C) as well as exposure to various oils and acids. The combination of fluoroelastomer with silicone provides the best solution to meet the requirements of the final product.

What are the benefits?
The fluorinated hoses enable automotive manufacturers to improve engine performance while reducing exhaust gas emissions.

Fuel hoses

What are we talking about?
A flexible multi-layer hose with a fluoroelastomer inner layer.

What is it for?
Carrying fuel from the tank to the combustion engine. Fuel hoses are in direct contact with fuel. For safety reasons, it is essential that fuel hoses prevent fuel leakages that could lead to serious accidents.

What are the benefits?
On top of the safety benefits, fluoroelastomer-based fuel lines reduce fuel emissions and can operate close to the engine at elevated temperatures (up to 230°C) in combination with outstanding chemical fuel resistance.

Electric vehicle equipment

Shaft seals

What are we talking about?
Shaft seals.

What are they used for?
To prevent leakage of liquids, such as oil, around rotating parts. Without these seals, leaks could otherwise damage other engine or transmission components.

What are the benefits?
Although electric vehicles do not generate as much heat as combustion engines, some parts of the transmission system and electronic components (such as inverters and electric motors) can generate heat. Fluroelastomer-based shaft seals can withstand high temperatures, ensuring that sensitive components are sealed and protected. These seals are also very light, making them an advantage in terms of energy efficiency. Finally, these seals are needed to ensure the transition from combustion engine technology to electric vehicles.

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment

Pipes and valves

What are we talking about?
Sealing.

What is it for?
Used, for example, for seals in valves, chambers and FOUP (Front Opening United Pod).

What are the benefits?
Daikin materials used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, such as valves, air filters, and sealing materials, improve productivity and enhance quality control by providing a unique combination of an extreme heat resistance up to 230°C) and purity, while being able to operate in harsh chemical conditions.

Oil & Gas industry

What are we talking about?
Sealings in oil & gas drilling equipment for off-shore applications.

What are the benefits?
The drilling depths for oil & gas off-shore operations are continuously increasing. As a result, drilling conditions are becoming very difficult in terms of temperature (>200°C) and chemical environment. Fluoroelastomers are used to guarantee safe, stable operation with no leaks and long maintenance intervals.

Unique chemical properties

The fluoroelastomers produced by DCF fall within the category of PFAS, a group of many different chemical substances. Within this category, fluoroelastomers belong to a distinct sub-group known as fluoropolymers.

Fluoropolymers display different physical, chemical and toxicological properties that distinguish them from other substances classified as PFAS.

Fluoropolymers are irreplaceable in many critical applications given their unique combination of exceptional properties which cannot be matched by other materials. These properties comprise:

Resistance to extreme temperatures, chemical resistance (to acids and oils), weather resistance – The carbon-fluorine binding energy is superior to carbon-hydrogen bonds, which is the basic chemical structure of hydro-carbon polymers. The strong carbon-fluorine bond is the backbone of fluorochemicals providing resistance to almost all chemicals even at elevated temperatures (up to 230°C).
Electrical properties – Fluorinated chemicals are excellent electrical insulators, which is an essential property for cables and pipes in particular.

Our commitments

The manufacturing of DCF’s products requires the use of different chemical substances. Some of these substances fall within the category of PFAS. DCF is stepping up its efforts to continuously improve the treatment of the emissions arising from the use of these substances and minimise discharges into the air and water.

All our activities at DCF are subject to strict authorization procedures. We work with the relevant authorities to minimise our PFAS emissions, to the lowest technically attainable level, well below regulatory thresholds.

As the safety of our employees is an absolute priority, we carry out exposure risk assessments in order to continuously improve the level of prevention and protection.

At DCF, we stopped using PFOA as early as 2008, and Daikin Chemical as early as 2015, well before any formal ban on this substance in 2020. Daikin Chemical, including DCF, has never used PFOS or PFHxS.

We are aware of the expectations placed on us as a manufacturer of PFAS products. That’s why we are stepping up our efforts to control our PFAS emissions, both into the air and water, under the strict and regular control of the authorities.

Today, 99.98% of our emissions into water are treated by our water treatment plant. The efficiency of this plant has been recognized by the Rhône prefecture.

We are continuing to invest in this plant to improve its performance and reduce our PFAS emissions into water.

Every six months, we measure any airborne concentrations of PFAS (as defined by the authorities).

Today, 92% of our air emissions of hexafluoropropylene (HFP), the PFAS substance used in the production of our fluoroelastomer, are captured by activated carbon filter systems, enabling us to fully comply with the regulation.

Daikin Chemical France has worked extensively to reduce bisphenol AF emissions linked to its pre-compound activity. From the start of this activity, DCF implemented measures to significantly limit emissions. To go even further, in October 2024, DCF installed absolute filters on its site. These filters, which are continuously monitored, reduce bisphenol AF emissions to 0.00005mg/Nm³, equivalent to around 1 to 2 grams of bisphenol AF emitted into the air per year, significantly below regulatory thresholds. These filters will be changed twice a year.

As a responsible manufacturer, DCF has had several environmental audits carried out at its factory by independent service providers.

The aim was to ensure that sufficient measures were applied to minimise emissions into the environment (water, air, etc.) during the processing/recycling of products containing our waste.

In addition, to minimise waste production, water and air treatment systems using activated carbon are regenerated in order to be reused. Thanks to this approach, DCF achieves a significant reduction of its consumption of active carbon.

In recent years, DCF has mobilised significant resources to control its air and water emissions. Although its emissions are already well below the regulatory thresholds in force, DCF is determined to continue its efforts through significant investment, which will bring its emissions under even tighter control.

Investments in our water treatment station to reduce even further our PFAS emissions into water
Investments in our air treatment system to reduce even further our HFP emissions into the air
Substitution of a fluorinated polymerization aid by new technologies by Q1 2026
We are currently conducting a comprehensive life cycle analysis on our products and reviewing our processes with the best practices to minimise our environmental impact beyond regulatory compliance

Update on our business

On 20 June 2024, the Lyon Administrative Court temporarily suspended the prefectural decree governing our pre-compound activity. DCF accordingly shut down its pre-compound production unit.

In the summer of 2024, DCF submitted a new application to the authorities for the resumption of activity. This new application included a reinforced plan to control emissions throughout the site by installing an additional filtration system (absolute filters) with an efficiency of at least 99.995%. DCF also presented a sanitary risk study carried out in July 2024 demonstrating the absence of any health risk associated with the implementation of this activity on the site (despite the fact that the study was carried out without taking into account the new very high efficiency filtration system).

Following the submission of this new application, the prefecture issued a draft new prefectoral decree to regulate DCF’s pre-compound activity, which was submitted for electronic public consultation (PPVE).

At the end of the PPVE, on 14 October 2024, the prefecture issued a new prefectural decree governing DCF’s pre-compound unit, thereby enabling the company to resume its activity. The prefectoral decree provides for strict emission limits, regular sampling and analyses of air emissions and a requirement to find an alternative to Bisphenol AF within 24 months, unless it demonstrates the technical and economic impossibility of such a substitution.