On Monday, the full HEPHAESTUS consortium met online to review the project’s progress ahead of its upcoming Review Meeting. This will be the second official review, taking place after 36 months of work. The first one was held at the 18-month mark. Since the project officially started on 1 June 2022, this upcoming review will cover all activities up to the end of May 2025.

The Review Meeting is scheduled for 22 July 2025 and will be held in Vibo Marina, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. This location is significant, as it will host the HEPHAESTUS demonstrator plant. The plant will feature several of the project's core innovations: an Electric Arc Furnace, a fibre drawing unit that transforms molten slag into mineral wool, a zinc recovery unit using the patented EZINEX electrolytic process, and a carbon capture system designed to convert carbon dioxide into methanol.

The entire consortium will gather on site alongside the European Commission project officer to share updates and present results. Thanks to the excellent coordination provided by RINA Consulting, the project is progressing smoothly and remains on track.

HEPHAESTUS is funded by the Horizon Europe programme and runs for a total of 54 months. Its main goal is to recycle electric arc furnace (EAF) dust and other metallurgical residues produced in Europe. The project demonstrates how valuable materials, such as iron alloys and zinc, can be recovered while also producing mineral wool and methanol as part of a circular, sustainable process.

The consortium includes ten partners from three European countries, working together to create innovative solutions for industrial waste. By turning steelmaking byproducts into high-value secondary raw materials, HEPHAESTUS supports waste reduction, circularity in metallurgy, and Europe’s strategic independence in critical raw materials.