MATERIÁLOVÝ A METALURGICKÝ VÝZKUM s.r.o. achieved success at the prestigious international conference METAL 2026, held in Brno. The research team received an honorable mention for a technical poster titled Reduction of Zinc Content in Metallurgical Sludge Generated in Oxygen Converters. The award-winning work explores the potential for further utilization of metallurgical sludge generated during steel production, which currently represents a significant waste stream. The researchers developed a pyrometallurgical processing technology that uses secondary waste as a reducing agent. At temperatures of 1100–1200 °C, they succeeded in significantly reducing the content of harmful substances, increasing the proportion of metallic iron, and simultaneously obtaining usable products containing zinc. The resulting material can be reused as a secondary raw material in the metallurgical industry. The project thus confirms the importance of the circular economy in practice and points the way toward reducing the environmental impacts of industrial production and more efficient waste utilization.