Orion Breaks Ground on Texas Battery Materials Plant

Orion S.A. OEC recently broke ground on a plant in Texas that will be the sole facility in the United States producing acetylene-based conductive additives for lithium-ion batteries and other applications critical to the global transition to electrification.
The location in La Porte, southeast of Houston, will generate much high-skilled employment in construction and technological areas, as well as contribute breakthrough technology to the American economy. The battery additives manufactured by Orion's facility will be extremely clean, with one-tenth the carbon footprint of other regularly used materials.
The plant in La Porte will be a critical step in increasing the regional supply of conductive additives in the rapidly expanding U.S. battery market. All batteries require conductive additives. They allow for a more efficient flow of electricity and improve the life of lithium-ion batteries, the most valuable component of electric vehicles. The material is also vital in high-voltage cables used in wind and solar farms.
The additives manufactured at the La Porte plant will be made from acetylene, a colorless gas that Orion's manufacturing method converts into powder of the exceptional purity required by major battery manufacturers. Equistar Chemicals LP, a LyondellBasell subsidiary, will supply the acetylene from an adjacent site.
Orion's facility in La Porte is similar to one located in Berre-l'Etang, southern France. LyondellBasell supplies acetylene to the site as well. The LaPorte project's major equipment procurement and off-site fabrication are already well underway. Field construction works are speeding up, and the facility is anticipated to start operations in the second quarter of 2025.
Shares of OEC have lost 3.4% over the past year compared with a 7.2% decline of its industry.

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Zacks Rank & Key Picks

OEC currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Denison Mines Corp. DNN, Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS and Ecolab Inc. ECL.
Denison Mines sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). DNN beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 300%. The company's shares have soared 112.6% in the past year.
Carpenter Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters while matching it once, with the average earnings surprise being 12.2%. The company's shares have soared 80.8%% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ecolab current-year earnings is pegged at $6.43 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 23.4%. ECL, a Zacks Rank #1 stock, beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 1.7%. The company's shares have rallied roughly 34.4% in the past year.

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