The ESTEP Focus Group Circular Economy and the FEhS Institute organised e a two-days’ workshop on “The role of slags and other by-products within circular economy in the steel industry”, which took place on 5 & 6 March 2025 in Duisburg (Germany). The RFCS InSGeP project was also be part of the workshop.

The European Union’s Green Deal sets ambitious targets to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, and the steel industry is pivotal in meeting these objectives. One critical focus area of focus is related to resource efficiency and circular economy practices within the steel sector, especially associated to the management and valorisation of by-products such as slag, but also dusts/sludges/mill scales. Steel production generates significant quantities of slag as well as other by-products, materials that, if not properly managed, can lead to environmental challenges. However, by treating slag and other by-products as a valuable raw material, the industry can reduce waste, lower carbon emissions, and align with the broader EU goals of decarbonization and sustainability.

This topic is fundamental to be understood during the decarbonization of the steel industry, because working solutions need to include valorisation of the by-products that will be produced, especially when they will differ from the currently understood by-products or when the processes which are used to currently valorise them will no longer be available.

The workshop covered various topics as following: 

1. Statistics of production and use of slag and other by-products in different EU countries/regions 
2. Industrial examples of slag and other by-products recycling 
3. Industrial symbiosis examples and potentiality for iron and steel by-products 
4. New technologies for internal and external slag and other by-products valorisation 
5. By-products quantities and characteristics in decarbonization of the steel process 
6. CO₂ allocation to steel by-products 
7. Regulations for slag and other by-products management 
8. InSGeP project workshop