The 9th edition of the International Slag Valorisation Symposium, held in Leuven from 8 to 11 April 2025, once again brought together leading experts from academia, industry, and policy to explore the future of sustainable high-temperature processes and metallurgical residue valorisation. Organised by the Department of Materials Engineering at KU Leuven and supported by major players such as ArcelorMittal, Aperam, and ESTEP, the symposium reaffirmed its role as a unique platform for knowledge exchange in the domain of circular metallurgy.
As part of this important international event, the KU Leuven team, including researchers affiliated with the SIM² KU Leuven Institute, actively contributed to discussions on how slag and other metallurgical residues can be transformed from industrial waste into valuable resources. Presentations and poster sessions showcased recent research on slag chemistry, residue treatment, environmental and economic assessments, and innovative recovery technologies.
The symposium’s overarching theme, From Residues to Resources and Resilience, strongly resonated with the ambitions of the Horizon Europe HEPHAESTUS project, in which KU Leuven is a key partner. Through high-level exchanges, KU Leuven researchers were able to connect their own work on hydrogen-based steelmaking and plasma smelting to broader efforts in resource efficiency and industrial decarbonisation. Notably, the symposium provided an excellent occasion to engage with colleagues from the EU-funded H2Plasmared and HELIOS projects.
Topics addressed throughout the event included:
• Metal recovery from metallurgical residues
• Hot-stage slag engineering and solidification
• Life cycle and techno-economic assessments
• Regulatory frameworks supporting residue valorisation
As climate goals and raw material constraints continue to shape Europe’s industrial strategies, the collaboration between materials science, environmental systems analysis, and policy research becomes more crucial than ever. The Slag Valorisation Symposium offered the perfect environment to strengthen such cross-disciplinary and cross-project ties.
SIM2 KU Leuven and the wider Hephaestus consortium remain committed to driving innovation in sustainable metallurgy, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals — particularly SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production.
For more about the Slag Valorisation Symposium, visit: https://slag-valorisation-symposium.eu
