Tata Steel and Cemvision explore innovative slags to slash carbon footprint in steel and cement industries

Cemvision and Tata Steel have launched a jointly funded feasibility study to assess converting Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) and Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) slags into high‑value feedstock for near‑zero‑carbon cement while extracting metals for reuse in steelmaking. The work, backed by a grant from the Swedish Energy Agency and complementary support from India’s Department of Science and Technology, will run for approximately ten to twelve months and precede the design of a demonstration facility at a Tata Steel site. According to the announcement, the project is part of the India‑Sweden Industry Transition Partnership (ITP) under LeadIT.

The study will evaluate technical, economic and operational viability for a scalable slag‑valorisation model that aims to create industrial symbiosis between steel and cement. Industry data shows the cement and steel sectors together account for more than 15% of global CO2 emissions; steelmaking also generates large volumes of slag, much of which is landfilled or used in low‑value applications. European figures point to over 55 million tonnes of steel slag generated annually, with about 52% currently underutilised or landfilled, highlighting both an environmental liability and an untapped material resource.

Cemvision says its technology can upgrade low‑grade slags into a high‑performance supplementary cementitious material (SCM) and recover valuable metals. “Being able to, at scale, turn environmental liabilities into valuable resources 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 CO 2 cement, while metals are recovered and returned to steel production,” says Oscar Hållén, CEO of Cemvision.

Tata Steel frames the collaboration as a route to reduce emissions and increase circularity across two hard‑to‑abate sectors. “By bringing together Tata Steel’s steelmaking expertise and operational footprint with Cemvision’s strength in slag modification and binders, we see a genuine opportunity to create a more circular, resource‑efficient value chain. This project can help us turn today’s slag into tomorrow’s low‑carbon construction materials – creating dual value across steel and cement industries while advancing our net‑zero ambitions,” says Subodh Pandey, Vice President – Technology, R&D, NMB and Graphene, Tata Steel.

The feasibility scope includes assessing process integration on site, downstream cement quality and market fit, metal recovery routes and capex/opex for a demonstration plant. Partners named in project materials include academic and industrial actors such as IIT ISM Dhanbad and J K Cement, reflecting an intent to validate the model across geographies and supply chains and to explore scaling into India’s large construction market.

The initiative follows broader moves by Cemvision to position its product suite within decarbonisation chains: the company has announced collaborations with energy and construction players to produce near‑zero‑emission cement and climate‑improved concrete. “LeadIT welcomes the Tata Steel–Cemvision partnership as a model for modern industrial collaboration, combining global industrial leadership, innovative solutions, and public support from India and Sweden to advance decarbonisation and circularity in the cement sector”, says Per Andersson, Head of LeadIT Secretariat.

For industrial decarbonisation stakeholders, the project signals two practical priorities: diverting underused industrial residues into higher‑value circular feedstocks, and embedding metal recovery to preserve material value within the steel loop. The planned demonstration will be an early test of whether integrated slag upgrading can deliver both the materials performance required by cement producers and the economic returns needed to displace landfilling and low‑value uses at scale.