Steel and mining company Arcelor Mittal and the University of Luxembourg signed an agreement on Thursday which will see their collaboration extended to include further financing and implementation of joint research projects.
ArcelorMittal Luxembourg has been a major partner and supporte of the University of Luxembourg and has invested a total €350,000 in the endowment fund of the University, an amount due to last until 2019.
The extension to the collaboration agreement was signed yesterday by University President, Rainer Klump, Chairman of the Board of Governors, Marc Jaeger and Managing Director of ArcelorMittal Luxembourg, Valérie Massin, at the Maison du Savoir on the new university Belval Campus.
Research priorities in upcoming years will seek to explore and develop efficient and sustainable steel construction solutions for high-tech buildings, steel composites and glass, under Professor Dr.-Ing. Christoph Odenbreit, Professor of Steel and Steel Composite Construction in the area of Civil Engineering.
ArcelorMittal have already collaborated with the University on several research projects, including, among others, one aimed at improving connections between steel beans and steel columns, and another examining the securing of steel beams with high loads on concrete components.
The Chair will be working on research and development projects with various universities across England and Germany, with the results expected to be incorporated into future European standardisation.
"We want to jointly recognise, explore and shape future trends and developments," Prof. Dr. Rainer Klump, President of the University of Luxembourg, said of the collaboration, which he stated would be a focal point for the construction industry in Luxembourg. "We also believe that a major concern for the industry is to ensure the availability of highly trained engineers."
Michel Wurth continued: "ArcelorMittal Luxembourg’s devoted involvement with the University of Luxembourg illustrates our entrepreneurial investment in economic and social life and our commitment to education in our country. We constantly strive for architectural innovation in steel and steel composite construction. The collaboration with the first-class research teams of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Odenbreit augurs well for product development."
"With ArcelorMittal Luxembourg and the University of Luxembourg, two powerful partners have found an interest in innovation and research into high-tech steel construction. This research collaboration is also an opportunity for us to attract the best students. I look forward to another three years of collaboration
based on trust and a spirit of partnership," concluded Prof. Olivier Vassart, executive director of the Research and Development department for long products at ArcelorMittal.
The new laboratory building at the Belval Campus has already been completed. In 2016, the research laboratory for steel and steel composite construction at the Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication at the University of Luxembourg will be moving to the Belval Campus and will therefore continue its work in the immediate vicinity of the steelworks of ArcelorMittal Belval.
Photo by © Michel Brumat / University of Luxembourg
