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Celebrating a Milestone in Sustainable Metallurgy: FEMOST wins the 2026 ICDA Sustainability Award
The FEMOST project has been awarded the 2026 ICDA Sustainability Award – Environment Category, presented during Africa Chromium Week 2026 in Zimbabwe. The recognition highlights the project’s contribution to more sustainable and resource-efficient ferrochrome production.
A special acknowledgement goes to our industrial partner Vargön Alloys AB, part of the CoreX Group and a key member of the International Chromium Association (ICDA). Through their strong commitment to innovation and sustainable production, Vargön Alloys played a central role in the successful execution of full-scale submerged arc furnace (SAF) campaigns. We also congratulate Annelie Papadopoulos, Senior Manager Process Metallurgy & Sustainability at Vargön Alloys, for receiving the award on behalf of the FEMOST consortium.
This success is the result of close collaboration across the entire value chain, bringing together research, industrial implementation and innovation to enable the green transition of ferrochrome production.
“FEMOST's key strength is the close collaboration across the value chain. For the metallurgical industry to succeed in the green transition, an understanding of capabilities and requirements across the value chain will be essential. This includes understanding how changes in one process may affect the entire value chain, for example, through the use of biocarbon.” Ludvig Ånnahgen, Vargön Alloys AB
The project demonstrates that sustainable transformation in the ferrochrome industry has progressed from laboratory development to proven industrial practice.
“Winning the prestigious ICDA Environmental Sustainability Award confirms that the green transition in ferrochrome has moved beyond the lab into a proven industrial reality. By transforming mill scale by-products into strategic green assets, FEMOST has demonstrated how industrial symbiosis can effectively decouple high-performance alloying from fossil fuel dependency.” Elsayed Mousa, Swerim AB
FEMOST also shows that reduced emissions, circular resource use and high product quality can be achieved simultaneously at industrial scale.
“Our successful industrial campaign proved we can significantly slash fossil CO2 emissions while maintaining the world-class quality standards required by the ferrochrome and special steel markets. We are not just closing the loop on waste; we are delivering a scalable roadmap for the future of sustainable metallurgy.” Elsayed Mousa, Swerim AB
The FEMOST consortium includes:
Project coordinator: Swerim AB
Industrial partners: Vargön Alloys, Uddeholms and Ovako Sweden
Supply & innovation: Future Eco in collaboration with Harads Arctic Heat (HAH)
Techno-economic assessment: RISE
Funding: Vinnova
FEMOST has proven that a sustainable future for ferroalloys is not just a laboratory concept, but a viable and scalable reality. For more information about the project, please contact the project leader Dr. Elsayed Mousa, Swerim AB.
