Germany: The FEhS Building Materials Institute has published a report on the Save CO₂ project investigating the suitability of electric hot metal slag (EHMS) from hydrogen-based direct reduction steelmaking for use in cement production. The project aims to establish whether EHMS might replace conventional ground granulated blast furnace slag. Laboratory and large-scale trials showed that EHMS achieves glass contents close to 100% and achieved comparable 91-day compressive strengths to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and other slag cements in a 50% blend. Lifecycle assessments indicated a 35% reduction in CO₂ emissions, subject to renewable energy supply. The German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space funded the research.

FEhS Building Materials Institute says that the next steps will be to secure REACH registration and standardisation, ahead of eventually building a large-scale plant at a Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe site.

Netherlands: Tata Steel IJmuiden (TSIJ) and Ecocem Materials Ltd (Ecocem) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their collaboration on the development and potential use of two steelmaking slags in low‑carbon cement, mortar and concrete applications across Europe.

The MoU builds on an existing joint research program and sets out a shared intention to explore new technical, commercial and regulatory pathways for the valorisation of steelmaking slags produced at TSIJ. Alongside the existing commercial relationship between TSIJ and Ecocem for the valorisation of Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GBS) in cement and concrete, this new collaboration focuses on basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag as an alternative cementitious material, alongside the continued development of electric arc furnace (EAF) slag as a supplementary cementitious material.

The aim of the BOF and EAF slags project is to transform these steel industry by-products into cementitious binders or constituents that can support the decarbonisation of cement and concrete production, while advancing circular economy principles. By developing new pathways for the beneficial use of these materials, the collaboration also aims to increase the availability of low-carbon concrete solutions in the market, providing designers, concrete producers and contractors with a broader range of sustainable material options.

Germany: Loesche has won a contract to deliver a slag grinding plant for the Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, site of industrial by-products management company Ferro Duo. Loesche says that the plant will have a capacity of ‘several hundred thousand tonnes per year’ and comprise a vertical roller mill with a dynamic Loesche LSKS classifier, rotary feeder, product filter, mill fan and electric heater. The supplier will serve as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) management partner for the plant’s tendering, construction and installation. The plant will supply super-fine slag to help Ferro Duo customers to further reduce the clinker factors of cementitious materials produced using it.

Loesche says that it previously delivered a ‘similar project’ in Germany. It says that it won the sale thanks to its ‘excellent’ references for superfine slag grinding plants and for the technological possibilities offered by its vertical roller mill.

Germany/Sweden: SSAB and Heidelberg Materials are entering a collaboration to develop electric arc furnace (EAF) slag into an alternative binder in cement mixtures. The research project brings together also leading expertise from universities and the Swedish metals research institute Swerim. The project aims to develop EAF slag into an efficient supplementary cementitious material (SCM) to reduce the CO₂ footprint of the cement sector. The project has been granted funding of €1.9m through The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth from the Just Transition Fund with national co-financing.  

The new four-year research project builds on knowledge from previous successful research and collaboration initiatives. By bringing together leading expertise from Luleå University of Technology, the University of Oulu, and Swerim, along with industry partners SSAB and Heidelberg Materials, the project forms a strong consortium with unique competence and capacity. The focus is on developing methods to optimise the slag, from laboratory to pilot scale, and on evaluating performance in cement and concrete applications. The goal is to create an industrially scalable solution that can be applied to future products. 

"This is a natural next step in our shared journey toward creating valuable solutions for our by-product,” said Marko Mäkikyrö, Director, Byproduct Sales & Development at SSAB. “We are transitioning to electric arc furnaces in Oxelösund with start of production planned for early 2027, in Luleå in 2029, and thereafter in Raahe, Finland. SSAB's goal is production in line with sustainable development and circular economy. Through this project, we are seizing these opportunities by combining strong expertise and long experience with a shared determination to drive change.”

"We see a good opportunity in including EAF slag from SSAB as part of our strategy to reduce the carbon footprint of our products. Through this collaboration, we unite leading expertise from industry and research with a common ambition to deliver the building materials of the future" said Magnus Ohlsson, CEO at Heidelberg Materials Cement Sverige AB.

Heidelberg Materials and SSAB have a long-standing collaboration on raw materials by using parts of SSAB's slag as input in cement production at the Slite cement plant in Sweden. This new project is an important part of a partnership as SSAB transitions its production to electric arc furnaces.