Stahlinstitut VDEh https://vdeh.de/en/information/news/ – 20.05.2026

Sendai/Tokyo. The “4th ISIJ-VDEh-Jernkontoret Symposium on Metallurgy” took place in Sendai and Tokyo from April 13–17, 2026. The VDEh Steel Institute participated in the symposium with a delegation of 14 attendees. The three steel associations from Germany, Japan, and Sweden meet every three years for a metallurgical exchange. This year’s host was the ISIJ Iron and Steel Institute of Japan.

The program began with two days of metallurgical presentations at Tohoku University in Sendai. It became clear that the symposium was increasingly evolving into a forum for exchanging ideas on developments and projects related to low-carbon steel production. This was followed by two days of visits to Japanese steel mills and research institutes: the NanoTerasu synchrotron research facility, the Godo Steel electric arc furnace, the JFE Recycling biogas plant, and Nippon Steel.

The VDEh delegation, led by Peter Schmieding, consisted of 14 representatives from ArcelorMittal Bremen, Georgsmarienhütte, Saarstahl, Stahlwerk Thüringen, the Institute for Iron and Steel Technology (TU Bergakademie Freiberg), the Institute of Metallurgy (RWTH Aachen), the Institute of Industrial Furnace Engineering and Thermal Technology (RWTH Aachen), the FEhS Institute for Building Materials Research, the FOSTA Research Association for Steel Applications, and the trade journal stahl+eisen.

Since 1974, the VDEh Steel Institute and the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan have been organizing regular symposia to exchange metallurgical expertise. In 2014, the Swedish association Jernkontoret joined the initiative, giving rise to the ISIJ-VDEh-Jernkontoret Symposium. Following events in Osaka in 2014, Stockholm in 2017, and Düsseldorf in 2023, the 4th symposium of this kind has now taken place in Japan.