Orion SA, a global specialty chemicals producer, is investing 12.8 million Euros (US$ 13.52 million) – including 6.4 million Euros (US$ 6.76 million) in funding from the German government and European Union – to develop and demonstrate a climate-neutral process for producing carbon black from alternative carbon sources, the company said.
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 Euros 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.
Orion 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.
