As a new Associate Partner of HILT CRC (Heavy Industry Low-carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre), K1-MET was invited to participate in the HiTeMP-5 – High Temperature Minerals Processing Forum (20–21 October 2026) and the annual HILT Conference (22–23 October 2026), both held at the National Wine Centre in Adelaide, Australia.

During HiTeMP, Bernhard Adami presented “K1-MET’s Pathways for Sustainable Steel Production – Hy4Smelt and HPSR”, highlighting K1-MET’s role in developing innovative technologies for the decarbonization of the steel industry. The presentation sparked valuable discussions with researchers and industry representatives from around the world.

The trip also provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen international research collaborations. Together with Prof. Johannes Schenk (Chair of Ferrous Metallurgy, Technical University of Leoben, Austria), visits were made to leading Australian research organizations and industrial partners, including:

• Swinburne University of Technology (Prof. Geoffrey Brooks and Prof. Akbar Rhamdhani with their PhD students)
• CSIRO Clayton (working group of Dr. Chunlin Chen)
• Monash University (A/Prof. Shibo Kuang and his PhD students)
• Calix Ltd. (research team around Dr. Matt Boot-Handford) in Bacchus Marsh, where it was especially exciting to see the innovative ZESTY reactor at different scales

These exchanges provided valuable insights into ongoing developments in sustainable metallurgy and highlighted the importance of global partnerships in accelerating the transition toward low-carbon iron and steelmaking.

A big thank you to our hosts and to HILT CRC, especially to its CEO Jenny Selway and research director Prof. Gus Nathan, for the invitation and the opportunity to engage with the Australian research and innovation community. We look forward to further strengthening these collaborations in the future!