Houston, Texas – Orion Engineered Carbons is commissioning a new reactor for speciality and technical rubber carbon black production at its facility in Ravenna, Italy.

The 25-kilotonne per annum facility marks the first new reactor for carbon black production in the European Union in over 40 years and will start operation this week, said Orion in a statement 28 Feb.

The products of the new plant are primarily destined for the European market. With the new unit, Orion aims to offer ‘long-term’ and ‘dependable’ supply of materials in the region, according to CEO Corning Painter.

Additional investments at the 60-year-old plant include a new co-generation facility to convert waste heat into electricity, generating up to 120 MWh of green electricity per year.

From that amount, 7% will be supplied to the national grid, serving about 30,000 households, Orion said.