Jamshedpur, : The two-day CIRCON 2026 – Circularity Conference, themed “Reimagining Valorisation through Innovation & Entrepreneurship,” concluded successfully at Beldih Club, Jamshedpur on Friday. More than 200 participants and over 50 speakers from industry, academia, research institutions, technology providers and startups took part in the conference.
The conference was organised by The Indian Institute of Metals (IIM), Jamshedpur Chapter, in association with Tata Steel, CSIR–National Metallurgical Laboratory (CSIR-NML) and the Indian Ceramic Society. The programme featured plenary addresses, parallel technical sessions, exhibition showcases and a dedicated startup pitching session.
Wide-ranging technical deliberations
Presentations covered industrial by-product utilisation, steel slag and fly ash valorisation, circular construction materials, critical and precious metal recovery, urban mining, e-waste and lithium-ion battery recycling, refractory recycling, carbon capture and mineralisation, water reuse, circular steelmaking and next-generation resource recovery. Speakers also discussed low-carbon binders, concrete 3D printing using carbonated steel slag aggregates, agricultural applications of industrial by-products, solar PV recycling and recovery of valuable metals from secondary resources.
Participation across industry and research
Industry and technology participants included representatives from Tata Steel, Tata Pigments, Tata Steel Nederland, Tata Steel UK, AM/NS, JSW Cement, Adani Cement, Nuvoco, Hindalco, IMFA, TRL Krosaki, RHI Magnesita, Eco Recycling, HSM Levy, Tata Electronics, JAMIPOL, Rubamin and GSW Mining & Recycling, among others. Academic and research participation included IISc, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Guwahati, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, IIT Bhubaneswar, NIT Jamshedpur, CSIR-NML, CSIR-CSMCRI and NCCBM.
The conference also featured international perspectives, including presentations by professionals associated with organisations and operations in Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Discussions considered advanced slag processing, circular steelmaking, steel packaging circularity and material recovery.
Startup ideas in the spotlight
A highlight of the concluding day was “Innovations for a Circular Future – Startup Elevator Pitch.” Startups including Saltech, Climitra, Paving+ and Carbon Strong, along with other participating ventures, pitched their ideas to industry professionals, researchers and potential collaborators. The session emphasised the importance of moving promising solutions from concept and laboratory development to industrial trials, partnerships and commercially scalable applications.
A call for continued collaboration
A central message across the two days was that industrial residues such as steel slag, fly ash, mining rejects, refractory waste, spent catalysts, e-waste and batteries can offer opportunities as secondary resources. Speakers highlighted the need to address technical feasibility, environmental performance, market acceptance and economics together. Despite heavy rain during the conference, delegate participation and engagement remained strong.
CIRCON 2026 concluded with a call to translate the discussions and connections made in Jamshedpur into collaborative research, pilot projects, technology demonstrations, startup partnerships and commercially viable circular-economy solutions. The organisers thanked the speakers, delegates, sponsors, exhibitors, startups and organising team for their support.
