Unique Furnace in Europe at HYDROMETAL (Engis, Belgium)

A branch of the Metallurgical Research Center (CRM Group in Liège) is now present on the HYDROMETAL company site in Engis for the installation and use of a brand new plasma furnace unique in Europe. This type of electric furnace, whose energy is concentrated in a plasma at several thousand degrees as on the surface of the sun, is particularly well suited to recycling new types of waste generated by the green economy, electrical and electronic waste, battery residues, catalysts, permanent magnets, etc. It also allows the recovery of metals with high strategic value, rare earths and other precious materials essential to the functioning of digital technology.

The CRM, which employs 265 people in the Sart-Tilman science park, thus strengthens its position as an essential partner for industrial innovation in Wallonia.

Confirm the essential role of industrial recycling

The investment of 6 million euros, supported by the Walloon Region, is part of the development of the recycling industry and the circular economy in general. The new equipment will supplement the current tools of the R&D and industrial partners of Reverse Metallurgy, one of the essential axes of the industrial renovation of Wallonia.

Thanks to this brand new tool, the Walloon ecosystem will consolidate its role as a key player in the field of recycling and occupy a leading position within the European Union’s innovation programs in terms of sustainable economy. such as the Green Deal and Horizon Europe.

The collaboration agreement between HYDROMETAL and the CRM Group was concluded last June and the new furnace should be operational at the end of this year. The installation will notably make it possible to test and develop the recycling of non-ferrous materials.

Walloon industry will therefore be able to take a new step on the road to its conversion thanks to two players based in the Liège region.

CRM Group: from research to implementation in the field

The three key words of the CRM Group are industrial solutions, innovation and vision of the future. As its name suggests, the CRM does research in the metals sector, but its mission does not stop there. The Center does not just seek and…find. It accompanies its partners through to the industrialization process; from theory to project implementation.

For its part, HYDROMETAL, which employs a hundred people, has been an expert in recycling for 35 years. The company is particularly specialized in the reuse of complex residues containing non-ferrous materials. Its know-how makes it possible to avoid landfilling waste, to increase the recovery rate of many metals and to reduce the exploitation of the planet’s natural resources.

Active worldwide, HYDROMETAL is part of the JGI group (Jean Goldschmidt International), whose ambition is to be an essential partner in the recycling of non-ferrous metals, a promising sector which could soon experience interesting developments in Wallonia…

Contact : Click here to reveal e-mail