SMS group is now the sole owner of Paul Wurth

The German plant manufacturer SMS group acquired the remaining 40.8% of Paul Wurth SA and became the sole owner of Paul Wurth's plant engineering company.

40.8% of the shares were owned by the Luxembourg state and state-owned banking organizations, but now it is run by a German manufacturer of factories.

The Luxembourg site will now be expanded to become the R&D center for decarbonisation and recycling within the SMS group, where the two companies (SMS and Paul Wurth) will combine their R&D with the aim of setting technology standards “in these promising areas”.

The future range of services includes all technologies to reduce CO2 emissions in existing steel mills; direct reduction of iron ore on a hydrogen basis without carbon dioxide emissions; and Power-To-X technologies for the production of synthetic fuels and processed products. In addition, international teams of experts from SMS and Paul Wurth will continue to work to expand the range of products and services throughout the entire steel industry process chain.

As part of the deal, a strategic partnership agreement was also reached with the University of Luxembourg to strengthen research and development of hydrogen technologies in Luxembourg. With the financial support of Paul Wurth, the department of technology of energy processes has already been opened at the university.

Edwin Eichler, Chairman of SMS group, commented: “In the coming decades, decarburization technologies will replace traditional blast furnaces and coke plants in metallurgical plants. Consequently, it will be necessary to revise and reorganize the energy balance of the metallurgical plant. To make this change happen, our customers will need fully integrated solutions. Along with the decarbonisation plan, efforts will continue to develop digital solutions for self-learning processes. This breakthrough in the global steelmaking market means that it is time for Paul Wurth and SMS Metallurgy to form a single solution provider. ”