Fig. 4: C-rate test for a 5 Ah pouch cell using NMC622 cathode electrode and cycle life test for a 1.2 Ah pouch cell using a LFP cathode electrode<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThis year, Orion announced the building of a green field plant in La Porte, Texas, to produce acetylene black. With this initiative, Orion will be the only company manufacturing acetylene black in the US supplying regional and global LIB customers. The plant\u2019s start-up is expected to take place in the second half of 2024, quadrupling the company\u2019s effective manufacturing capacity of acetylene-based additives, increasing it by 12 kTon per year. Among other products, PRINTEX kappa 100 will be one of the premium grades produced in this new facility.<\/p>\n
Continuous development<\/h3>\n Orion\u2019s constant development and search for customer satisfaction occurs at all levels, and the innovation team is continuously working on new carbon blacks to fulfil current and future market requests. The development of new grades takes place internally, where scientists, production engineers and marketing work together to find the best solutions for customers and, externally, in collaboration with other companies and academic institutions, to develop integral solutions to strengthen a particular region or industry.<\/p>\n
One of Orion\u2019s internal projects is the development of highly conductive carbon black grades using the furnace black process. The advantage of the technology is its flexibility that allows the manufacture of a broad variety of carbons with different material properties that can be used in different applications. Just like with acetylene black, the furnace black grades for batteries must be highly conductive, high structured, and very pure. In an interdisciplinary collaboration between departments and regions, the Orion team is committed to developing new premium grades that exceed the expectations of customers.<\/p>\n
As part of the external collaborations, Orion participates in the HiQ-CARB project, a European Union funded project that aims to develop sustainable, locally produced conductive additives, acetylene black and carbon nanotubes, to be used in lithium batteries. By granting projects like the HiQ-CARB, the EU is looking to create a competitive manufacturing value chain in Europe for LIBs and decrease the technological dependence on other regions. In this project, the low CO2<\/sub>\u00a0footprint acetylene black from Orion and the resource-efficient carbon nanotubes (CNT) from the project partner Arkema are manufactured and tested in the LIB. The synergistic effect of both conductive additives, short-range electrical pathways of acetylene black and the long-range electrical pathways of CNTs, are also studied. The environmental impact of acetylene black and CNT will be evaluated through a life cycle assessment.<\/p>\nAware of the current and future demands of the lithium-ion battery industry, Orion embraces the challenge and continues working on the development of integral solutions to manufacture premium conductive carbon additives, focusing on the customer needs and in the technical requirements of the next generation of batteries.<\/p>\n
Orion\u2019s commitment to a more sustainable future reflects its effort to deliver the best products while being socially and environmentally responsible, making sure the future of carbon black is green.<\/p>\n
References<\/h4>\n 1: Avicenne Energy 2022 and Orion assumption<\/p>\n
2: N Hauptman, A Vesel, V Ivanovski, M Gunde. Electrical conductivity of carbon black pigments. Dyes and Pigments 95 (1) (2012) 1 \u2013 7<\/p>\n
Please note, this article will also appear in the twelfth edition of our\u00a0<\/i><\/strong>quarterly publication.<\/b><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Orion Engineered Carbons offers sustainable and highly conductive carbon black solutions for lithium-ion batteries. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":26366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24204],"tags":[529,24335,582,651,24134,24228,24449],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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