20 September 2024

Inauguration of new chemical recycling and purification facilities at Speichim Processing's Saint-Vulbas (Ain) site

Speichim Processing Saint Vulbas Regeneration, purification and chemical synthesis Regeneration of used solvents Purification of intermediates Organic synthesis Marketing virgin and regenerated solvents Circular economy

The health crisis has raised awareness of the need to relocate industrial production chains to the national territory, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector. To address this challenge, Séché Environnement, a key partner for industries in their low-carbon transition through the production of recycled resources, has invested 26 million euros to develop its subsidiary's main site, Speichim Processing in Saint-Vulbas (Ain).

Supported by the state through the France Relance and Investissements d’Avenir programs, these investments have made it possible to develop production and innovation capabilities in the purification and regeneration of chemical materials.

Support the industry’s ecological transition and the relocalization of strategic businesses

Séché Environnement, through its subsidiaries, Speichim Processing in France and Valls Quimica in Spain, is one of the leading international specialists in the recycling and purification of complex mixtures by distillation. With unique know-how in Europe, the group works for high-tech industries such as pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, cosmetics, agrochemicals, automotive, or aerospace by regenerating solvents or purifying complex mixtures used by the latter.

The relocalization of strategic businesses, particularly those in pharmaceutical industries, calls for developing production capabilities of service providers capable of supplying and distilling essential chemical materials in their production process in Europe.

Faced with the scarcity of resources, the recovery of used solvents and directly reusable products by industries is part of a circular economy approach and aims to reduce environmental impact. Using a regenerated solvent has an 80% lower impact on average CO2 emissions compared to a virgin solvent.

The regenerated products will replace the predominantly non-European supplies that use large amounts of natural resources.

Winner of the France Relance and Investissements d’Avenir plans

The development project from Speichim Processing’s Saint-Vulbas site was among the winners of the second phase of the call for “relocalization” projects in the France Relance plan.

Receiving support from the state, the investments have made it possible:

To significantly strengthen the production capabilities of critical inputs through the eventual installation of four new state-of-the-art distillation columns (two of which have already been installed), allowing the site’s processing capability to double (from 20,000 tons to 40,000 tons per year authorized).

To build a new R&D laboratory aimed at developing new processes for purifying and recovering complex chemical materials, processes that can be rolled out across all Speichim sites.

To develop and build an industrial demonstrator implementing an innovative chemical process that aims to make production residues from the industry valuable by transforming them into high value-added molecules used in the pharmaceutical industry and specialty chemicals.

Work on the new facilities took place between 2021 and 2024. These investments will create 20 jobs with various profiles (R&D engineers, production operators, laboratory and maintenance technicians, etc.) at the Saint-Vulbas site.

“The teams at Séché Environnement continue to innovate to be at the forefront of industrial and environmental issues. Today, these efforts make it easier for industrial players, who are essential for sovereignty, to return and develop in our territory. With this significant investment, we are committed to supporting our clients in their low-carbon circular economy approach,” states Maxime Séché, Chief Executive Officer of Séché Environnement.