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 the 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’s 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