Conductive Additives

For more than a century, we have been making conductive additives for batteries. Over the years, our business has expanded to other applications, such as modern lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells and high-voltage wire & cable.

Orion is one of only a few companies in the world that makes acetylene-based conductive additives. We are also the sole producer of the material in the Western Hemisphere, with a plant in France and another under construction in the U.S. Our global footprint makes us a reliable supplier.

Acetylene is a colorless gas widely used as a chemical building block. Orion’s production process turns acetylene into a powder. The material has high conductivity, excellent processability, exceptionally high purity and low moisture absorption.

Orion has products for a variety of batteries:

• Lithium-ion batteries: The PRINTEX® kappa 100 grade for lithium-ion batteries offers ultra-low metal content, exceptionally low moisture uptake and high conductivity.
• Lead-acid batteries: The PRINTEX® kappa family of products is produced for advanced lead-acid battery technology, enabling batteries to achieve high DCA performance and maintain acceptable water loss.
• Primary batteries: Orion’s conductive additives function in many different primary batteries such as zinc-carbon, zinc-air, Li-primary batteries to ensure the electrical conductivity of the cathode.