On May 14–15, 2025, the SMARTChain project (grant agreement no. 101178919) held its third Consortium Meeting at the ICCS headquarters in Koropi, Greece.

Over the two-day meeting, project partners gathered both in person and online to review the progress achieved during the last six months and coordinate the next phases of the project. The meeting provided an important opportunity to assess the status of the ongoing Work Packages, discuss technical developments, and strengthen collaboration across the consortium.

The first day focused on project management activities, communication and dissemination updates, and preparation for the upcoming Project Review Meeting with the European Commission. Dedicated technical sessions covered the progress made in the requirements analysis and use case design (WP3), as well as the software environment architecture and module definition (WP4). Participants also visited the ICCS facilities and took part in a demonstration session dedicated to pilot preparation and data gathering, highlighting the readiness of the project's use cases and digital infrastructure. The second day was devoted to the presentation of the latest developments in the technical Work Packages, including digital tools for improving steel quality and reducing environmental impact (WP5), manufacturing optimisation solutions (WP6), and the connection of the steel value chain (WP7). The agenda concluded with interactive workshops, where partners worked together on pilot preparation, platform connectivity, data integration, and the next implementation steps.

Throughout the meeting, consortium members discussed the integration of Digital Product Passport (DPP) concepts, Data Management Plan (DMP) activities, optimisation algorithms, and pilot readiness, ensuring that all developments remain aligned with the project's objectives and key performance indicators. The Consortium Meeting successfully reinforced cooperation among partners, confirmed the project's steady progress, and established the priorities for the coming months as SMARTChain moves towards the deployment and validation of its innovative digital solutions for a smarter, more sustainable steel value chain.