In the industrial heart of northern China, Lingyuan Iron & Steel commissioned two new Paul Wurth top-charging jumbo coke oven batteries equipped with the Paul Wurth SOPRECO® system. Together, they added 136 jumbo ovens and immediately increased the region’s coke output by more than 2 million tons per year. Not far away, Shanneng Yongfeng Fine Chemicals commissioned two additional Paul Wurth batteries—each featuring 65 top-charging jumbo ovens equipped with the Paul Wurth SOPRECO® system.
Further south, in Sichuan Province, Dazhou Steel completed commissioning of a second unit in 2025 after commissioning its first battery in 2024. The second unit consists of 50 Paul Wurth top-charging jumbo ovens equipped with the Paul Wurth SOPRECO® system, marking an important expansion of the region’s steelmaking capacity.
Meanwhile, two additional projects showcased the flexibility of the SOPRECO® technology: at Panzhihua Steel, SOPRECO® was installed on a 6-m-high top charging battery, while at Pingxiang Risun the system was integrated into a 65-t oven, 6.78‑m high stamp-charging configuration — proof that the Paul Wurth SOPRECO® system can enhance performance across different coke-oven technologies and in brownfield plants. At both Panzhihua Steel and Pingxiang Risun, start-up of a second unit equipped with the Paul Wurth SOPRECO® system is expected in 2026.
With the commissioning of each battery, a broader narrative became visible: China’s steelmakers and coke merchants continue to put their trust in Paul Wurth technologies to modernize their operations and reduce their environmental footprint.
All projects were successfully carried out together with Shandong Province Metallurgical Engineering Co., Ltd. (SDM).
By the end of the year, seven batteries across the country were fully operating with Paul Wurth coke ovens and/or SOPRECO®, each contributing to a more efficient and sustainable steel industry. The combination of Paul Wurth jumbo ovens and SOPRECO® once again demonstrated its strengths: ultra-low emissions, reduced energy consumption, and consistently high coke quality.
2025 was, ultimately, a year defined by scale, collaboration, and shared success. For SMS group, it reaffirmed not only the reliability of Paul Wurth’s cokemaking technologies, but also the value of long-term partnerships with customers seeking to elevate their operations.