Spotlight on our partners: John Cockerill
Engineering, sovereignty and industrial innovation: an exemplary and committed trajectory
A key player in the Walloon industrial landscape, John Cockerill has embodied for nearly 200 years the alliance between engineering, innovation, and regional anchoring. Present in 28 countries, the group today stands as a provider of integrated technological solutions in fields as diverse as energy, environment, defence, industrial processes, and mobility.
As an active member of CRM Group, John Cockerill is a long-standing strategic partner with whom we share common values of sustainable industrial progress, technological innovation, and economic sovereignty.
A dynamic of innovation in constant motion
Building on almost two centuries of industrial history, John Cockerill continues to grow with a clear ambition: to deliver cutting-edge technological solutions tailored to the challenges of the 21st century.
Whether in defence, thermal processes, or metal transformation, the group invests in concrete innovations that meet industrial and strategic needs.
This momentum also takes shape through several projects carried out in close collaboration with CRM Group, highlighting the complementarity of our respective expertise.
Some emblematic projects of our collaboration
- JVD – Jet Vapor Deposition
This structuring project brings applied metallurgical research closer to industrial realities, by jointly developing innovative processes and materials for Walloon and European industry. It illustrates the ability of both organisations to co-develop transferable technological building blocks, ready for industrialisation. - VIRGA – Adaptive stealth for defence applications
Within this project, John Cockerill and CRM Group are developing an intelligent thermal camouflage solution for armoured vehicles. This modular system, based on active pixels, allows the dynamic adaptation of a vehicle’s infrared signature, enhancing discretion and operational safety in the field. - NESA – New solutions for thermal conversion
The NESA project explores new ways to improve the energy efficiency of industrial thermal processes, via a dedicated test bench for heat conversion. CRM Group contributes its expertise in thermal modelling and phase-change materials, strengthening John Cockerill’s technological demonstration capabilities. - Volteron – Decarbonising steelmaking through cold electrolysis
Launched in 2025, Volteron is the result of a strategic partnership between John Cockerill and ArcelorMittal, aiming to build the first low-temperature iron electrolysis plant at industrial scale. Volteron™ is a carbon-free direct cold electrolysis process that extracts iron from iron ore using electricity.
A shared vision
The collaboration between John Cockerill and CRM Group is based on a common vision: to design and implement sovereign, sustainable and competitive industrial technologies, serving a more resilient European economy.