Stephan Schmidt Group invests in sustainability

The German raw material producer is focusing on renewable energy by investing in photovoltaics, wind power and hydrogen production.

The Germany-based Stephan Schmidt Group, one of the world’s leading producers of special clays and industrial minerals, remains committed to environmental sustainability and the responsible use of resources. As an energy-intensive company, the Stephan Schmidt Group pursues an investment strategy aimed at expanding its renewable energy generation and use in production facilities (including photovoltaics, wind energy and hydrogen production), thereby reducing its use of primary energy and the consequent environmental impact on air, water and soil.

Major recent investments include the installation of large photovoltaic arrays on the roofs of its raw material preparation facilities and the recently inaugurated site in Meudt, where a 900-metre-long conveyor belt system is used to transport raw materials from the quarry to the new warehouse in place of diesel-powered trucks.

In collaboration with a partner, Stephan Schmidt has also founded a new subsidiary called Windpark Arborn GmbH with the goal of building and operating a wind power plant. A portion of the green electricity generated by this plant will be used to produce green hydrogen at one of the company’s facilities to replace fossil natural gas in the production of ground clay.

The Stephan Schmidt Group, which will be exhibiting at TECNA 2024 in Rimini (Hall B7, Booth 400), has an annual output of more than 1.5 million tonnes of raw materials, sold in over 40 countries worldwide.