MATERIALS | ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY
Above: Premix Group opened its new facility in Apple Creek, North Carolina in June 2025
impact properties that are optimised depending on the end-use application, said Pasquale. The company also offers CNT masterbatches and fully formulated ESD compounds, and is launching a new, optically clear ESD ABS material in February this year.
In the US, ESD packaging continues to increase with the growth of the electronics manufacturing market, said Jyrki Taiminen, General Manager of Premix USA. “The energy industry is [also] growing rapidly, and cable manufacturers are looking for new, sustainable, future-proof solutions.” Taiminen added that although the automotive sector has faced challenges, the transportation sector overall continues to show growing interest in lightweight engineering plastics for metal replacement. Premix Group, which has been producing electrically conductive plastics compounds and concentrates in Finland for more than 40 years, opened its new US manufacturing facility in June 2025. The new facility in North Carolina was designed with automated production lines and capacity to scale up. “2025 has been about ramping up our produc-
tion and operations and testing our processes, as we have been delivering significant volumes already to a few US customers. [In 2026,] we expect to see the growth continue and accelerate,” said Taiminen.
Smaller footprint “Market growth for conductive carbon black is driven by sustainable mobility applications (electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and new mobility markets), the growing lithium-ion battery market, and its increasing use in conductive polymer applications,” said supplier Imerys. The company launched a new, high-purity, extra-conductive carbon black, Ensaco 320G, in
34 COMPOUNDING WORLD | January/February 2026
April 2025. Benefits of the new grade include processability and dispersibility, electrical conduc- tivity at low loading rates due to high purity levels, and improved mechanical properties and a smooth surface finish in final products. Imerys announced that in 2026, all its Ensaco carbon black grades would have a carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint reduced by 66%, due to the energy recovery plant at the company’s carbon black site in Willebroek, Belgium. The energy recovery plant, managed by E.On, will use syngas from the carbon black production process to generate electricity, which reduces the Scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the manufacturing process. “Imerys is committed to reducing the group’s GHG emissions by 42% by 2030 (versus 2021 baseline), aligning with the 1.5° C trajectory,” the company said. “The carbon footprint is rigorously assessed using the Life Cycle Assessment method- ology, aligned with ISO 14040/44 guidelines.” In addition to carbon black, Imerys produces synthetic graphite. Imerys introduced Su-nergy, an industrial-scale, partially biomass-based, synthetic graphite with excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, in early 2025. Produced in Switzer- land, the product is positioned for European manufacturers seeking a shorter and stable supply chain for industrial sectors, such as polymer applications, automotive, electronics, energy storage, and others. The graphite is made from forest residues using low-carbon energy sources, and the process achieves up to 60% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to traditional methods. “Recent application testing confirms its excellent thermal conductivity performance in both thermo- plastics and adhesives,” the company reported.
Cable applications Carbon black supplier Orion noted that purity and cleanliness of carbon black are important for demanding applications that require long-term stability and high operating temperatures, such as high voltage underground and submarine cables. Cables such as these are critical for expanding and modernising the electrical grid. “Investments in underground and subsea
transmission systems, along with advanced semiconductive technologies, are enabling utilities to transport more power efficiently and reliably over long distances,” said Orion’s CEO, Corning Painter. “Growth rates addressing this end market are among our Specialty segment’s highest.” “Our acetylene black Printex kappa 105 contrib-
utes to keep the compound integrity even in these highly demanding applications,” said Martin Dauch,
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: PREMIX
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