Interview Mr Lee, CEO of Enchem

In May 2024, South Korean electrolyte production champion Enchem made official its decision to locate a production unit in Dunkirk, as close as possible to its OEM customers. At the same time, Enchem chose the Lille European Metropolis as the location for its offices, creating a sales and engineering base to oversee the industrial project and make the plant operational in September 2025.

The European Metropolis of Lille and the Hauts-de-France region: new key stages in the international deployment of Enchem.

Founded in 2012, Enchem is now South Korea’s largest manufacturer of battery electrolytes, essential components in the production chain for electric car batteries. On a global scale, the company employs more than 700 people and has industrial facilities in South Korea, China, the United States and Eastern Europe. Enchem is the world’s fourth-largest producer of electrolytes.

After setting up sites in Poland in 2018 and Hungary in 2024, the South Korean company is continuing its European expansion in the Hauts-de-France region, with the construction of a 15,000 m² plant in Dunkirk. The plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 150,000 tonnes of electrolytes, 40,000 tonnes of recycled NMP (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, a solvent used in the production of lithium-ion batteries) and 4,000 tonnes of cathode suspension. The investment is worth €57 million, with the plant due to open in January 2025.

By choosing Dunkirk as its site, Enchem is responding to a crucial logistical challenge. As electrolyte is a material that is sensitive to transport, it has to be transported quickly to customers while being maintained at a stable temperature of 10°C. Proximity to customers is therefore essential, which is why the plant is located close to partners such as Verkor, M-Vision and ACC Emotion. The choice of Hauts-de-France, the nerve centre of Europe’s Battery Valley, was also guided by the quality of the local workforce, from the pool of skilled workers in the Dunkirk basin to the large pool of senior administrative, sales, support and R&D staff in the Lille area.

A dual presence supported by an entire ecosystem

From the earliest stages of the project, a number of players involved in supporting investment in France have played a decisive role

Mr Lee arrived in Lille last April and has benefited from the invaluable support of the Lille Attractiveness Agency and Nord France Invest in setting up his French office in the Lille European Metropolis. Initially, the Invest team at the Lille Attractiveness Agency mobilised its real estate partners. They had to quickly find the future offices that would house the subsidiary and receive the partner companies in the Dunkirk construction project (architects, construction companies). Numerous flex and coworking office spaces were visited in Lille city centre and near Lille Europe and Lille Flandres stations, enabling Mr Lee to discover a whole range of possibilities and appreciate the competitiveness of rents offered in the metropolitan area. In the end, Enchem chose Multiburo in Marcq en Baroeul. “These premises combine a number of advantages: easy access by different modes of transport, a car park and a highly available support team,” explains Mr Lee.

“These spaces combine a number of advantages: easy access by different modes of transport, a car park and a highly available support team,” explains Mr Lee.

In a second phase, these same teams from the Lille Attractiveness Agency will work alongside Mr Lee to help him select the HR partners who will facilitate the recruitment of his local sales team. As this project perfectly illustrates, the Lille European Metropolis is once again positioning itself as an undisputed host region for the R&D activities and decision-making centres of foreign companies in connection with their industrial projects.

Facilitating, supporting and welcoming, the Lille touch that makes all the difference

Lille’s reputation as one of the friendliest cities in the world is well-founded. Once again, everything was done to ensure that the arrival of Mr Lee and his family went as smoothly as possible. On a personal level, the executive was able to take advantage of the ‘professional mobility’ scheme developed by the Lille Attractiveness Agency, in partnership with Victoria Relocation. The personalised programme included exploring the city’s neighbourhoods, visiting residential offers and targeting suitable international schools. Securing a place for her daughter at the Lille Metropole European School and her accommodation enabled the family to arrive in the summer of 2024. Subsequently, the Lille Attractiveness Agency will also be helping to recruit a sales team and relocate the Managers and Directors of Enchem Poland, who will be moving to Lille over the next two years.