Month: August 2024

HOUSTON –At the IWCS 2024 Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum, global specialty chemicals company Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC) will showcase its high-performance conductive additive portfolio, designed for wire and cable and other conductive applications.

Orion (Booth #206) will highlight developments underway, including its latest innovation PRINTEX® kappa 60 conductive additive, designed for conductive polymer compounds and a strong choice for wire-and-cable applications. The IWCS 2024 Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum will take place Oct. 14–17, 2024, in New Providence, Rhode Island.

Orion conductive additives increase cable service life by delivering high product purity, desired conductivities, superior surface smoothness and UV protection to medium-voltage (MV) distribution and high-voltage (HV) transmission cables.

“Over time, we’ve optimized the colloidal properties of legacy conductive additives to ensure excellent dispersibility and product cleanliness in our newest grades plus those in development,” said Kevin Milks, Orion marketing manager for polymers and special applications.

PRINTEX kappa 60 conductive additive meets the dispersion and cleanliness requirements for wire and cable applications. In separate product developments, two new circular additives produced from end-of-life tire pyrolysis oil match the performance of regular, fossil-based specialty carbon black used in cable jacketing.

Plus, Orion’s premium, acetylene-based PRINTEX kappa 100 BEADS, launched at the IWCS 2023 Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum, offer excellent dispersibility, exceptionally high cleanliness, purity and conductivity, making them ideal for use in high-voltage (HV) electric transmission cables.

To increase acetylene black availability, Orion on April 9 broke ground on a plant in La Porte, Texas, that will be the only facility in the U.S. producing acetylene-based conductive additives for wire and cable, lithium-ion battery and other applications vital for the global shift to electrification. The facility is expected to begin operation in the second quarter of 2025.

“We look forward to providing the North American wire-and-cable industry a consistent supply of domestically produced acetylene-based conductive additives,” said Jennifer S. Stroh, Ph.D., Orion vice president of sales and marketing Americas. “We also look forward to customizing solutions for all wire-and-cable applications as we continue to develop new conductive products and travel the arc of innovation.”

At the 2024 IWCS Industry Forum, Scott Brewer, senior technical market manager, will present “Carbon black and conductivity in medium and high voltage cables” as part of the Materials technical track. He will present Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 3:15 p.m.

For more information about the Orion conductive additives portfolio, including PRINTEX kappa 100 BEADS and PRINTEX kappa 60 conductive additive, contact the Orion sales team here.

About Orion S.A.

Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC) is a leading global supplier of carbon black, a solid form of carbon produced as powder or pellets. The material is made to customers’ exacting specifications for tires, coatings, ink, batteries, plastics and numerous other specialty, high-performance applications. Carbon black is used to tint, colorize, provide reinforcement, conduct electricity, increase durability and add UV protection. Orion has four innovation centers and produces carbon black at 15 plants worldwide, offering the most diverse variety of production processes in the industry. The company’s corporate lineage goes back more than 160 years to Germany, where it operates the world’s longest-running carbon black plant. Orion is a leading innovator, applying a deep understanding of customers’ needs to deliver sustainable solutions. For more information, please visit orioncarbons.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. New risk factors and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information, other than as required by applicable law.

Contacts:

William Foreman
Orion S.A.
Director of Corporate Communications and Government Affairs
Direct: +1 832-445-3305
[email protected]

The high-performance conductive additive improves performance of lithium-ion batteries

HOUSTON – Global specialty chemicals company Orion S.A.  (NYSE: OEC) is spotlighting at The 2024 Battery Show North America its acetylene-based PRINTEX® kappa 100 conductive additive, which improves lithium-ion battery performance. The Battery Show takes place Oct. 7-10 in Detroit, Mich. Orion will be at booth 5330.

“PRINTEX kappa 100 is helping our customers resolve their battery power challenges,” said Kevin Milks, Orion marketing manager for polymers, batteries and special applications. “It is exceptionally pure, highly refined and easy to process.”

PRINTEX kappa 100 enables higher electrical conductivity, leading to significantly higher power densities and longer battery life than with other carbon blacks. The high-performance conductive additive forms an excellent percolation network across the cathode surface for effective charging and discharging. It is supplied as a powder or as beads.

Orion’s acetylene black production has a very clean input material and generates a high yield, giving PRINTEX kappa 100 a low carbon footprint. The sustainable chemistry of this process reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps our customers to reduce their carbon footprint along the battery value chain.

Sole U.S. acetylene black plant

On April 9, 2024, in La Porte, Texas, Orion broke ground on a plant that will be the only facility in the U.S. producing acetylene-based conductive additives for lithium-ion batteries and other applications vital for the global shift to electrification. PRINTEX kappa 100 and other conductive additives produced at the La Porte plant will be super clean, with only one-tenth of the carbon footprint of other commonly used materials.

“Our La Porte facility will complement our acetylene-based conductive additives plant in Europe, where we are already the sole producer of acetylene black,” said Dr. Adrian Steinmetz, Orion global vice president for conductive additives. “When it goes online, which we expect in the second quarter of 2025, the new plant will quadruple Orion’s manufacturing capacity for acetylene-based conductive additives.”

Key equipment procurement and off-site fabrication are advancing steadily and field construction activities are ramping up.

Dr. Steinmetz leads a new global organization within Orion to propel the company’s conductive additives business for batteries. He noted that the La Porte plant will fortify the regional supply of conductive additives in the burgeoning U.S. battery market and will offer North American battery manufacturers domestic availability and consistent supply with the lowest possible carbon footprint for conductive additives.

To further serve the market, Orion recently opened its Battery Innovation Center in Cologne, Germany. Equipped with state-of-the-art production, testing and diagnostic capabilities, the Battery Innovation Center accelerates Orion’s product and process development in close cooperation with customers.

For more information about PRINTEX kappa 100 conductive additive, contact Milks, the marketing manager, polymers and batteries, at [email protected]. To learn more about Orion’s sustainability performance and initiatives, including Orion’s recently released 2023 Sustainability Report, visit Orion Engineered Carbons – Sustainability (orioncarbons.com).

About Orion S.A.

Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC) is a leading global supplier of carbon black, a solid form of carbon produced as powder or pellets. The material is made to customers’ exacting specifications for tires, coatings, ink, batteries, plastics and numerous other specialty, high-performance applications. Carbon black is used to tint, colorize, provide reinforcement, conduct electricity, increase durability and add UV protection. Orion has four innovation centers and produces carbon black at 15 plants worldwide, offering the most diverse variety of production processes in the industry. The company’s corporate lineage goes back more than 160 years to Germany, where it operates the world’s longest-running carbon black plant. Orion is a leading innovator,

applying a deep understanding of customers’ needs to deliver sustainable solutions. For more information, please visit orioncarbons.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. New risk factors and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information, other than as required by applicable law.

Contacts:

William Foreman
Orion S.A.
Director of Corporate Communications and Government Affairs
Direct: +1 832-445-3305
[email protected]