Order for 770 million euros
Rheinmetall discovers heat pump business
5/9/2023 5:54 p.m
Rheinmetall’s business is already excellent, but apparently another business area is now opening up for Germany’s largest armaments group. According to a report, the company is said to have received a huge order in the heat pump business.
According to a report in the “Handelsblatt”, Germany’s largest armaments company, Rheinmetall, is entering the heat pump business. As the newspaper reported, citing corporate circles, Rheinmetall will supply a leading German heating manufacturer with refrigerant compressors, a component of heat pumps. The company received an order worth 770 million euros to manufacture the compressors.
According to the report, the order had been known since the end of last year. So far, however, it has not been clear what the compressors should be built for. The “Handelsblatt” quoted an industry expert as saying that the compressor, a “core component for heat pumps”, is currently not under control in Europe. “At the moment it’s mostly bought in from outside Europe.”
In view of the heating transition, heat pumps will be of enormous importance in the future. However, critics of a rapid heat transition complain that the production of heat pumps is currently still too low.
Tank production in Ukraine
Meanwhile, Rheinmetall sees itself on the right track to being able to manufacture tanks, anti-aircraft defense systems and ammunition in Ukraine in the future. Attempts are being made to conclude some cooperation agreements and joint ventures with Ukrainian companies in the coming weeks, said CEO Armin Papperger in Düsseldorf. It is about joint ventures for vehicle systems, air defense and ammunition. “In this way we will enable Ukraine to defend itself in the medium and long term.” Investments in new plants would come from the Ukrainian state.
As a specific example, he went into the plan that has been known for two months to build Panther-type main battle tanks in the Ukraine. According to the Rheinmetall plans, it could be up to 400 per year. The previous talks with Kiev on the tank project are promising, the manager said at the general meeting of Germany’s largest armaments company.
Just as the Lynx armored personnel carrier is built in a plant in Hungary, “our newly developed Panther main battle tank could roll off the production line in a Ukrainian plant based on a comparable model.” In the next ten years, the demand from Ukraine will be very high. Rheinmetall is on a strong growth path, which is also due to the increased global demand for armaments against the background of the Ukraine war. Speaking to shareholders, Papperger said: “You can assume that 2023 will be the best year in the company’s history in terms of incoming orders.” The group has very large capacities for tank ammunition and artillery, said the CEO. This is how you currently produce 150,000 rounds of tank ammunition. The artillery has a capacity of up to 600,000 rounds. “We are very well positioned with the capacities.”
A number of company critics also spoke at the online shareholders’ meeting. Ruth Rohde from the Armaments Information Office (RIB) complained that with new Rheinmetall plants in Hungary, the local armaments industry would be significantly expanded and exports to other countries would be made possible. All of this is happening regardless of the fact that the Orban government has been dismantling democracy and the rule of law for years, criticized the peace activist.