Euroslag conference in Bilbao on the future of iron and steel slags
Transformation as a challenge
The transformation of the steel industry to largely low-CO2 manufacturing processes also has a massive impact on the by-product ferrous slag. The 12th Euroslag conference in Bilbao from October 23 to 25, 2024, focused on the challenges facing science and industry and the solutions already available today. Under the motto “Slags for the Future, the Future of the Slags”, 230 participants from 34 countries exchanged ideas in the sessions “Legislation and Standardization”, “Applications and Best Practices”, “Future Trends in the Steel Sector and Implications on Slag” and “Tendencies in Slag Utilization and Research Projects”. EUROSLAG, the European Association of Producers and Processors of Ferrous Slag, based in Duisburg, organizes the trade event every two years, in Bilbao with the support of the Basque Steel Cluster Association Siderex, the Spanish Steel Industry Association Unesid and the Spanish Steel Technology Platform Platea.
In addition to the influence of the decarbonization process on the properties and availability of slags, this year’s Euroslag focused on the impact of legislation and standardization, including technical and ecological issues, innovative production and processing, characterization and use of slags, new areas of application and the recovery of metallic raw materials from iron and steel slags. In particular, the necessary changes to the regulations for the use of slag products from the transformed steel industry were very clearly highlighted as one of the core tasks. In addition, the organizers emphasized the industry‘s strong commitment to innovation, modernization and sustainability as well as the importance of research and international networking.
Thomas Reiche, Chairman of Euroslag and Managing Director of FEhS - Institut für Baustoff-Forschung from Duisburg, which provided five speakers: “We would like to thank the Spanish organizers for this very successful event. The large number of participants this year, not only from Europe, also underlines the economic and ecological importance of by-products for the steel industry. In 2023, 35.8 million t of iron and steel slag were produced in the European Union and Great Britain. Over 90% of this was used in building materials, fertilizers and metallurgy. This avoided the extraction of 44 million t of natural rock and the emission of around 12 million t of CO2 through the use of granulated blast furnace slag instead of Portland cement clinker in cement. In the period from 2000 to 2023, a total of 1.17 billion t of natural rock and 416 million t of the climate-damaging gas were saved. This track record must be confirmed and expanded in the future.”
