US: Ozinga celebrated the opening of its new slag-based low-carbon cement mill in East Chicago, Indiana, with a ribbon cutting ceremony on 13 October 2026. It said that the mill would strengthen the domestic supply chain for building materials, promoting Midwestern construction and advancing innovation in US infrastructure. The plant will produce 1Mt/yr of ASTM C989-compliant slag cement, as well as proprietary blends under Ozinga's CarbonSense brand, reportedly delivering up to 80% reductions in embodied carbon over traditional Portland cement mixes. Once fully operational, the plant is projected to offset more than 0.7Mt/yr of CO emissions.

"We built this mill in the heart of the Midwest because we believe it is central to producing high-performing, American-made materials that will be the foundation of US infrastructure for years to come," said CEO Marty Ozinga. "We are taking the cement-to-concrete process from start to finish - with American ownership at every step of the domestic supply chain, with homegrown scientific innovation and with American workers all the way. Our message to the market is clear: We have new domestic capacity to meet your needs for reliable, sustainable and cost-effective materials.”

Ozinga's private investment in the project was supported by state, federal and local public officials, including the East Chicago City Council.  On-site water access and rail transportation will be key factors that will help to lower the total embodied carbon impact of the product. At full operation, the plant will create approximately 50 permanent union jobs between the mill and Ozinga's Burns Harbour operation at the site of the Cleveland Cliffs steel mill, where the slag is initially processed.

Europe: EuroSlag, the European association of ferrous slag producers and processors, recorded 17.5Mt of granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) used in cement production in the EU in 2025. A further 1.8Mt of GBFS served as aggregates, while the bloc used 12.6Mt of steel slag, including 8.6Mt in roadbuilding and 1.3Mt in building construction. It supplied its consumption from domestic production of 17.8Mt of GBFS and 16.8Mt of steel slag, as well as draw-down from stockpiles. EuroSlag said that cumulative use of ferrous slag across all applications prevented the extraction of 1.25Bnt of rock and the emission of 330Mt of CO2 between 2000 and 2025.

EuroSlag chair and FEhS Building Materials Institute managing director Thomas Reiche said “We need adequately funded, practice-orientated research, as well as optimised national and European regulations. Examples include the EU’s Circular Economy Act and Public Procurement Act.”

The proposed Circular Economy Act aims to increase the industrial application of by-products and other circular materials in the EU. EuroSlag is also lobbying for EU public procurement reform to give preferential treatment to circular materials.

Austria: Voestalpine expects to complete construction of its upcoming 1.6Mt/yr electric arc furnace at its Linz steelworks in Upper Austria later in 2026. ORF News has reported that reduced-slag steel production will then commence from early-mid-2027. The project, along with an upgrade at its Donawitz plant in Styria, aims to reduce Voestalpine’s CO₂ emissions by 30% from 2019 levels, equivalent to 5% of Austria's annual total CO₂ emissions.

Zimbabwe: Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO) is on schedule to commence production at an upcoming 400,000t/yr slag cement grinding plant at its Manhize metallurgical complex in Midlands Province in October 2026. The Chronicle newspaper has reported that the plant will use granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) from the complex’s steel production. The complex is undergoing a Phase 2 expansion to increase its production of downstream steel products, due for commissioning later in 2026.