UK: Holcim UK has appointed Krish Patel as plant manager of its upcoming cement facility at Tilbury in Essex. When commissioned in mid-2026, the facility will consist of a terminal on the River Thames, equipped with six loading heads and five weighbridges, and production facilities for ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and EcoPlanet 30% reduced-CO₂ sulphate-resistant cement. Civil engineering work is already complete and structural and mechanical installation is underway. Holcim UK described the upcoming Tilbury facility as a ‘key hub’ in its future supply of cement to the South of England.

Krish Patel said "Tilbury will be a flagship terminal not only for Holcim, but for the wider industry."

Patel rejoined Holcim UK in March 2025 from Heidelberg Materials UK, where he managed the Purfleet grinding plant in Essex. He originally trained as a manager in Holcim UK’s asphalt operations in Greenwich, London, before which time he was an international sales representative at specialist electronics provider Advanced Power Components. Patel holds a bachelor’s degree in Mineral Products from the University of Derby.

Sweden/India: Sweden-based Cemvision has received a grant from the Swedish Energy Agency to conduct a joint feasibility study with India-based Tata Steel to transform basic oxygen furnace (BOF) and electric arc furnace (EAF) slags into feedstocks for near-zero-CO₂ cement. The 10 – 12-month study will assess the technical and economic viability of a scalable slag valorisation model, ahead of a planned demonstration facility at a Tata Steel site.

Cemvision CEO Oscar Hållén said “Being able to turn environmental liabilities into valuable resources at scale is exactly the kind of climate innovation heavy industry needs. In partnership with Tata Steel, we hope to show how steel slag can become a cornerstone in near-zero CO₂ cement, while metals are recovered and returned to steel production.”

The project is part of the India-Sweden Industry Transition Partnership (ITP), announced during the COP30 global decarbonisation summit in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025. Tata Steel also received a grant from India’s Department of Science and Technology, with additional partners including the Indian Institute of Technology’s Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad and cement producer JK Cement.

Europe: EU member states deployed 32.5Mt of steel by-products in building materials production and construction in 2024, according to newly released data from regional slag association Euroslag. 20Mt of granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) entered cement production and 1.5Mt served as aggregates, while 11Mt of steelworks slag (SWS) served in roadbuilding and other construction applications. EuroSlag said that this, alongside all other applications, prevented the emission of 11.4Mt of CO₂ and the extraction of 40Mt of minerals. Domestic steel production yielded 19.6Mt of GBFS and 16.5Mt of SWS across the bloc in 2024. A further 38Mt of slag became available through extraction from temporary stores.

Cumulatively, circular applications of slag in the EU prevented the emission of 319Mt of CO₂ and the extraction of 1.21Gt of minerals between 2000 and 2024.

EuroSlag Chair Thomas Reiche said "Even in a difficult global political and economic environment, ferrous slag makes an important contribution to resource conservation, climate protection and the circular economy. EuroSlag will continue to work at all levels to intensify practice-orientated research and adapt national and European regulations."

US: Maschmeyer Concrete subsidiary Redwing Materials has appointed Gebr. Pfeiffer to build a slag grinding plant at Port Redwing in Tampa, Florida, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. When operational in early 2027, the plant will produce ground granulated blast furnace slag to replace cement in concrete production. It will use Gebr. Pfeiffer’s ready2grind grinding system with a four-roller MVR vertical roller mill, designed to withstand Florida's coastal weather.