The way of ironmaking has changed over thousands of years! Chinese steel companies' AI blast furnaces are producing iron, and the "black box" problem has been solved.

The millennia-old human ironmaking history is writing a new era. According to Pengpai News, Baosteel Co., Ltd. (600019.SH), a listed central enterprise in the steel industry, has officially produced iron in its “AI Blast Furnace” on April 3rd. This approach represents a fundamental transformation compared to traditional manual intervention and experience-driven methods.

How does artificial intelligence redefine steelmaking? How can a new industry revolution be achieved under the wave of new technologies? Focusing on these industry topics, Baosteel Co., Ltd. launched its comprehensive AI strategy in 2024. In the third year of this strategic transformation, the company has delivered a milestone: the application of intelligent ironmaking results.

Pengpai News learned from Baosteel that during the global launch event of the smart blast furnace on April 3rd, the company officially released the AI smart blast furnace model. Hu Wangming, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of China Baowu, and Zou Jixin, Member of the Party Committee of China Baowu, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Baosteel Co., Ltd., initiated the AI blast furnace ironmaking ceremony, with molten iron flowing vigorously.

Why focus on the “blast furnace” as a special scenario? It is not difficult to understand. As the core link in steel manufacturing, blast furnace ironmaking has long faced challenges such as complex operating conditions, multi-variable coupling, and heavy reliance on human experience. The industry regards the “black box” problem within the furnace as a key bottleneck for intelligent transformation.

Baosteel Co., Ltd. introduced that the smart blast furnace project is driven by a “data + AI” dual approach, deeply integrating decades of ironmaking process experience with cutting-edge technologies such as large models, big data, and cloud computing. It constructs a perception-decision-execution closed-loop intelligent control system covering the entire process from raw materials, sintering, coking, to blast furnace ironmaking, achieving a fundamental shift from “experience-driven” to “data-driven,” and from “passive response” to “active prediction,” successfully solving the “black box” control difficulty of blast furnaces.

At the launch event, a relevant person from Baosteel stated that data shows the core model’s prediction accuracy and control adoption rate both exceed 90%. The precision of furnace heat control and the stability of molten iron quality have been significantly improved. Fuel consumption continues to decrease. A single blast furnace has achieved cost reduction, efficiency increase, and low-carbon emission reduction, providing a replicable and promotable “Baowu solution” for the intelligent transformation of process industries.

Academicians and experts attending the event highly praised the global pioneering significance of Baosteel’s smart blast furnace. It has achieved a fundamental transformation of ironmaking from experience-driven to data-driven, representing a revolutionary innovation in industry production methods.

Hu Wangming pointed out in his speech that China Baowu, as the world’s largest steel enterprise, always adheres to the original aspiration of “serving the country through steel.” In the era of revolutionary breakthroughs in artificial intelligence technology, the company has upgraded “redefining steel with artificial intelligence” into its strategic plan.

He stated that the recently launched smart blast furnace by Baosteel Co., Ltd. is a result of the “digital-physical integration and collaborative problem-solving” achieved through cooperation with partners such as Baoxin Software and Huawei. It is also a major breakthrough in solving industry pain points for China Baowu, turning AI into the “smart brain” of ironmaking production, and providing a valuable model for the global steel industry’s transformation.

2026 marks the third year of Baosteel Co., Ltd.'s AI strategic transformation. The company is taking the digital and intelligent transformation of ironmaking as a breakthrough point, promoting AI technology from single-point applications to full-process penetration, and has already formed several quantifiable and scalable benchmark results. It is understood that in the future, Baosteel will take the smart blast furnace as a starting point, fully accelerate the implementation of its AI strategy, and speed up the development and deployment of large models for key processes such as steelmaking, hot rolling, and cold rolling.

Baosteel Co., Ltd. is a core enterprise under China Baowu, a central steel enterprise. It has major manufacturing bases in Shanghai Baoshan, Wuhan Qingshan, Zhanjiang Dongshan, and Nanjing Meishan, and is one of the most comprehensive steel companies globally in terms of carbon steel varieties.

As a leading enterprise in China’s and the world’s steel industry, Baosteel Co., Ltd. began promoting informatization as early as 1996 and started advancing smart manufacturing in 2014, entering the digitalization phase known as Smart Manufacturing 1.0. After nearly 30 years of development, Baosteel has now entered Smart Manufacturing 2.0, the intelligent phase, aiming to deeply integrate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence with steel production.

Earlier, on April 26, 2024, Baosteel announced that it had formulated a new round of digital and intelligent transformation strategy marked by “AI+,” fully launching its AI strategy to promote digital transformation and intelligent upgrading of the steel industry, and to strengthen and expand the real economy. During the AI transformation strategy launch event held that day, the company signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Huawei, jointly conducting in-depth AI cooperation across all fields. At the same time, Baosteel’s AI computing power center was officially put into operation.