Author: William Foreman

HOUSTON – Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC), a global specialty chemicals company, today announced the launch of PRINTEX® kappa 10 – a high-quality conductive additive that will supply surging demand from producers of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, energy storage systems and consumer applications.

The new product, produced with furnace technology in Europe and eventually in Asia, marks a crucial expansion of Orion’s portfolio of conductive additives. The company also makes other kappa grades with the acetylene process.

PRINTEX® kappa 10 facilitates a more efficient transfer of electrical energy within lithium-ion batteries. It forms a percolating network that enables the electrons to flow. This enhances the performance and power response during both charging and discharging.

The conductive additive works for both anode and cathode. It is also compatible with lithium-ferrous-phosphate (LFP) batteries, nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) and other batteries.

“At Orion, we’re focused on products enabling more efficient and powerful lithium-ion batteries that help to decarbonize mobility. PRINTEX® kappa 10 is a key part of our strategy for expanding our business for such conductive additives,” Orion CEO Corning Painter said.

“Our strength lies in our dedication to innovation and delivering sustainable solutions for our customers,” Painter added. “As the world increasingly turns toward electric mobility, the demand for high-quality conductive additives like PRINTEX® kappa 10 will grow.”

Orion invites interested parties to visit the company’s website or contact the sales team for more information about PRINTEX® kappa 10.

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

Director of Corporate Communications and

Government Affairs

Orion S.A.

Direct: +1 832-445-3305

Mobile: +1 281-889-7833

william.foreman@orioncarbons.com

Wendy Wilson

Head of Investor Relations

Orion S.A.

Direct: +1 281-974-0155

wendy.wilson@orioncarbons.com

When building a new plant, we traditionally create a sticker that the team can place on their hard hats. The decals add to a sense of comradery and express pride in being part of the project.

As we began constructing our latest facility in La Porte, Texas, we thought about hiring a graphic designer to make a sticker for the project. But then we decided to ask people across Orion to submit designs. We thought it would be a great way to give everyone – accountants, salespeople, IT technicians, etc. – an opportunity to flex their creative muscles and be a part of the project.

Our design specifications called for the sticker to be round and include the Orion colors: blue, black and white. We also wanted the sticker to include at least one element that localized the design and tied it to La Porte.

The response was overwhelming. We received 13 designs from colleagues across the world. Picking the final design was a tough task for our panel of judges. The winner was Lucas Barreto, an international technical purchaser at our plant in Paulinia, Brazil.

Lucas’ eye-catching sticker captures the local features of La Porte, a historic city where the Houston Ship Channel meets Galveston Bay. The decal includes the city’s symbol – a bay bird – as well as La Porte’s most famous landmark, the San Jacinto Monument – the world’s tallest war memorial. Sprinkled around the edges of the sticker are acetylene-based conductive additives, which will be produced by the plant.

The La Porte plant is special because it will be the only facility in the U.S. producing acetylene-based conductive additives. The material is commonly used in lithium-ion batteries, high-voltage cables and other products powering the global transition to electrification and renewable energy.

Acetylene is a colorless gas widely used as a chemical building block. Orion’s production process turns acetylene into a powder, which is added to lithium-ion batteries, enhancing electrical conductivity and extending the lifetime of the most valuable component of an electric vehicle. The material plays a similar role in high-voltage cables used for wind and solar farms.

The plant, which is expected to produce approximately 12 kilotons per year, should quadruple Orion’s effective manufacturing capacity of acetylene-based conductive additives.

Orion has a similar plant in France and is the only acetylene-based conductive additive producer in Europe.

HOUSTON – Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC), a global specialty chemicals company, today opened a Battery Innovation Center and announced a new leadership team for its conductive additives business for batteries – a major expansion serving the rapidly growing lithium-ion battery industry powering the global shift to electrification.

The new center is located at Orion’s main innovation hub in Cologne, Germany. The facility includes a full array of state-of-art production, testing and diagnostic equipment. The center will accelerate Orion’s tailor-made product and process development in close cooperation with customers.

“The growth potential for conductive additives is huge. We are committed to serving the needs of battery producers with innovation and a global production network. Our new Battery Innovation Center will further position Orion as a leader in the industry,” Orion CEO Corning Painter said. “The battery lab will also broaden and intensify our already extensive network of collaboration with universities, customers and other partners in the battery industry.”

Along with the Battery Innovation Center, Orion will establish a new specialized organization for its battery business, led by Dr. Adrian Steinmetz, who joins Orion on Oct. 1 from BASF. Based in Frankfurt, Germany, he will serve as global vice president for conductive additives.

Dr. Steinmetz’s key areas of expertise include business development, leading global and regional specialty chemical businesses and their technologies, as well as asset management. He earned a doctorate degree in organic chemistry from University of Göttingen, Germany.

“We are excited that Dr. Steinmetz will provide the global leadership that we need to continue the strong momentum we have in the conductive materials market,” said Dr. Sandra Niewiem, senior vice president and global head of Orion’s Specialty business. “He will bring to Orion more than 25 years of experience in several commercial and technical roles in battery materials and specialty chemicals in Europe, Asia and the Americas.”

In the new Battery Innovation Center, Dr. Amaury Augeard will lead the technical team as the head of energy systems. He joined the company from the Lotus Group and brings significant industrial lithium-ion battery expertise. Dr. Augeard holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Clermont-Ferrand, France.

With a plant in France, Orion is the sole producer of acetylene-based conductive additives in Europe. In the U.S., the company is building a similar plant, which will be the only facility of its kind in the country. The site in La Porte, Texas, will quadruple Orion’s manufacturing capacity for acetylene-based conductive additives, which are in high demand by lithium-ion battery producers.

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 innovation centers on three continents and 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.

Contact:

William Foreman

Director of Corporate Communications and

Government Affairs

Orion S.A.

Direct: +1 281-889-7833

william.foreman@orioncarbons.com

HOUSTON – Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC), a global specialty chemicals producer, is investing €12.8 million – including €6.4 million in funding from the German government and European Union – to further develop and demonstrate a climate-neutral process for producing carbon black from alternative carbon sources, the company said today.

The technology is designed to improve Orion’s yield and throughput in the production of carbon black using circular feedstocks and thus potentially reduce the carbon footprint of the process by a significant amount. This could accelerate the shift to a circular economy and feed the growing demand for sustainable materials in the tire industry.

Half of the €12.8 million Orion plans to invest in this initiative, called the “Clean Carbon Black Research and Development Project,” will be provided by the decarbonization program of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, supported by the EU’s NextGenerationEU fund.

“We are grateful for the funding from the EU and the German government. It shows a great commitment to innovation and creating a circular economy,” Orion CEO Corning Painter said.

“For years, Orion has been a leading innovator in making carbon black from circular feedstocks,” Painter added. “The Clean Carbon Black Research and Development Project’s aim will be to develop ways to reduce the carbon footprint and improve the yield and throughput, potentially lowering the cost of the material. Technological breakthroughs in this increasingly important field could have significant ramifications for energy integration and the molecular recycling of tires.”

A research facility is being built for the project at Orion’s main innovation center at its plant in Cologne.

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 innovation centers on three continents and 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

Director of Corporate Communications and

Government Affairs

Orion S.A.

Direct: +1 832-445-3305

Mobile: +1 281-889-7833

william.foreman@orioncarbons.com

Wendy Wilson

Head of Investor Relations

Orion S.A.

Direct: +1 281-974-0155

wendy.wilson@orioncarbons.com

HOUSTON – Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC), a global specialty chemicals company, today released its 2022 Sustainability Report that highlights a variety of initiatives, including launching four new sustainable products, conducting a Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions inventory and nearing the completion of a massive air emissions control project.

The report’s “CEO Letter to Stakeholders” describes the magnitude, complexity and impact of the air emissions control initiative that started five years ago and is the biggest sustainability-linked project in Orion’s history. The company will fulfill its commitments before several competitors despite that it has more production sites in the U.S.

“All of us at Orion can look back at the past five years and feel an extreme amount of pride,” Orion CEO Corning Painter said. “We stayed committed during intensely trying times and honored our agreement to make our facilities cleaner, leading to a big impact for the environment and health in our communities.”

A decade ago, Orion was the first major producer to develop and commercialize carbon black made from renewable feedstocks. The 2022 Sustainability Report covers how the company continues to be a leading innovator, launching four sustainable products last year for the rubber industry: ECORAX® Circular 210, 215, 220 and ECORAX® Nature 200.

“Supplying the growing demand for sustainable products and accelerating the transition to a circular economy are key components of our strategy,” Painter said. “Orion as well as our customers are serious about making their raw materials fully sustainable. So we are heavily engaged in this area and work closely with our customers to develop solutions.”

Another 2022 sustainability milestone at Orion involved implementing a Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions inventory, which allows the company to develop a better understanding of the type of initiatives that would help reduce these emissions.

Scope 3 emissions – those produced by Orion’s value chain partners – currently account for less than 40% of the total of Orion’s greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, in parallel to reducing Scope 3 emissions together with value chain partners, the company continues to focus on the sources of greenhouse gas emissions that it can directly influence, such as Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Download a PDF version of the report from the Sustainability page of Orion’s website.

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

Director of Corporate Communications and

Government Affairs

Orion S.A.

Direct: +1 832-445-3305

Mobile: +1 281-889-7833

william.foreman@orioncarbons.com

Wendy Wilson

Head of Investor Relations

Orion S.A.

Direct: +1 281-974-0155

wendy.wilson@orioncarbons.com