Experts from across the steel industry gathered at the Future Steel Forum 2026 in Bologna, Italy, from 3 to 4 June 2026 to discuss current developments and future perspectives in decarbonisation and digital manufacturing.

Thomas Buergler, CEO of K1-MET GmbH, participated in a panel discussion of the Future Steel Forum, hosted by Steel Times International about Hy4Smelt, the pioneering hydrogen based key technology for CO2-neutral iron and steelmaking for all global available iron ore grades without agglomeration.

The demonstration plant in Linz is the largest Austrian research project for climate protection with funding from the Austrian government and the largest running project with funding from the European Research Fund for Coal and Steel.