The demand for materials, particularly minerals and metals, has experienced an exceptional growth in the last decades. In parallel, the costs of the corresponding processing technologies have reached levels that are unsustainable for most countries. Increasing access to cost effective and clean electricity sets the stage for novel processes that can match new expectations from society. In this context, recent research and development results pertinent to materials processing are presented, in particular for oxides and sulfides. In parallel, novel experimental methods and predictive capacity for high temperature systems are shown, paving the way to transformative processes and materials.