Orion breaks ground on battery materials plant in Texas

Houston, Texas – Orion SA has broken ground on a new production plant in La Porte, Texas, to produce acetylene-based conductive additives for lithium-ion batteries.

With key equipment procurement and off-site fabrication “at an advanced stage”, Orion is currently ramping up field construction and expects start-up in the second quarter of 2025.

Claimed to be that ‘the only such facility in the US’, the plant’s products can also be used in other applications necessary for the global shift to electrification.

The battery additives produced by the unit, will be “super clean, with only one-tenth of the carbon footprint of other commonly used materials,” said Orion 9 April.

Already the “sole producer” of acetylene-based conductive additives in Europe, Orion aims to strengthen the regional supply of conductive additives in the “rapidly growing US battery market” with the new plant, said CEO Corning Painter.

Every battery requires conductive additives, which enable a more efficient flow of electricity and extend the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries.

The material is also used in high-voltage cables used for wind and solar farms, according to Orion.

The additives produced at the La Porte plant will be made from acetylene, a colourless gas that Orion’s production process turns into powder with “exceptional purity”.

The acetylene will be supplied by a neighbouring site owned by Equistar Chemicals LP, a subsidiary of LyondellBasell.

The plant will be similar to one the company currently operates Berre-l'Étang in southern France, which also uses acetylene from LyondellBasell.