Pic Story: Development of iron, steel industry over past decade

The past ten years have been a profound decade for the transformation of the concept and mode of China's iron and steel industry's development. During this period, China's steel industry structure has been continuously optimized, mergers and acquisitions have been steadily advanced, product technology innovation has achieved breakthroughs, green and low-carbon has been further developed, and intelligent manufacturing has been continuously upgraded.

In the past ten years, the steel industry has bid farewell to the old road of extensive development, and gradually embarked on a new path of high-quality development driven by innovation, intelligent manufacturing, green and low-carbon, mergers and acquisitions. According to the statistics of China Iron and Steel Industry Association, the comprehensive energy consumption per ton of steel in key steel enterprises decreased from 602.7 kgce/t in 2012 to 549.2 kgce/t in 2021, with a decrease rate of 8.9%.

The iron and steel industry has continuously strengthened the integration of industrialization and informationizaiton, and the overall automation level has obviously improved, laying a good foundation for the intelligent development of the industry. In terms of intelligent scenes, intelligent workshops, intelligent factories, etc., the steel industry has laid out a number of pilot demonstrations and new model projects of intelligent manufacturing, and has continuously focused on the application research of new technologies such as intelligent equipment, industrial big data, industrial internet, artificial intelligence, digital twinning, etc. At the same time, the iron and steel industry has steadily pushed forward the structure adjustment to realize pollution reduction and carbon reduction. The implementation of ultra-low emission transformation has been actively promoted, and remarkable results in energy conservation, emission reduction and cleaner production have been achieved.

The iron and steel industry has actively implemented the Belt and Road Initiative, contributing to international cooperation of energy capacity. The deepening of international cooperation has significantly improved the environmental protection management ability and comprehensive competitiveness in countries and regions along the BRI, and has helped to contribute China wisdom to the green, low-carbon and high-quality development of global steel industry.

Photo taken on Sept. 12, 2013 shows the Shijingshan Industrial and Cultural Scenic Spot of Shougang officially becoming a 3A-level tourist scenic spot. (Wang Jingguang/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken in November, 2014 shows the duplex stainless steel bars independently developed by TISCO Group successfully applied in Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, breaking the monopoly of foreign countries on this technology. (Zhang Xuanyu/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Dec. 22, 2015 shows a steel Base of Hangzhou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. officially closed. As the last batch of blanks was used up on the production line, the last process of the assembly line was completed, and the machinery and equipment stopped permanently. (Zhang Zhibing/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Nov. 24, 2016 shows the 5100 cubic meter blast furnace of No.1 Ironmaking Project being capped. It is known that this is the landmark project of Rizhao Iron and Steel Base of Shangang Group. (Bai Lixin/Guangming Picture)

 Photo taken on May 29, 2017 shows the No.1 blast furnace of Formosa Plastics Vietnam Ha Tinh Steel Plant, which was contracted by China Metallurgical CCID Group, a subsidiary of China Metallurgical Group, ignited and successfully tapped, which marked the successful deliver of the first model project for the overall export of core technology, equipment and project management of grand blast furnace by China. (Wu Zhihong/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Apr. 23, 2018 shows a staff member holding a commemorative plaque cast with molten iron from the last shift of No.9 blast furnace at the Ma Steel No.2 Iron Factory. The No.9 blast furnace of the Ma Steel No.2 Iron Factory, which had been in service for 65 years, was officially shut down. This is an important measure for Ma Steel to actively respond to the structural reform of the supply side of the country, resolve excess capacity and achieve high-quality development. (Zhang Mingwei/Guangming Picture)

 Photo taken in August, 2018 shows the "hand-torn steel"-stainless steel precision foil developed by TISCO, with a thickness of only 0.02mm and a width of 600mm. On Sept. 8, 2020, TISCO made another major breakthrough in foil thinning, and the thinner "hand-torn steel" was introduced with a thickness of only 0.015mm. (Wang Xuhong/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Nov. 8, 2019 shows the first application project of 5G+ smart crown block in domestic steel industry put into use at a plate factory of Hualing Xianggang. It is known that the project uses 5G ultra-low latency, ultra-high speed 4K HD video and PLC control signal wireless transmission technology, which can ensure accurate lifting, loading and unloading of remotely controlled crown block. (Zhou Biao/Guangming Picture)

 Photo taken on Sept. 7, 2020 shows the Tangshan New District of Hegang officially in operation with the successful ignition of No.1 2922 cubic meter blast furnace. Hegang has since then bid farewell to the history of being near the sea but without a harbor, and realized their long-cherished wish of owning coastal steel projects. (Profile picture)

 Photo taken on Sept. 4, 2020 shows the secenery of the Delong Steel. The company passed the evaluation of the national 4A-level tourist attractions, becoming the first steel mill in China to produce and reach the national 4A-level tourist attractions standard. (Gu Xuechao/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Aug. 20, 2021 shows Angang's Benxi Steel Reorganization Conference held in Anshan City, northeast China's Liaoning Province. This meeting marked the official start of Angang's reorganization of Benxi Steel. (Gu Xuechao/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on June 13, 2022 shows the Iron and Steel Intelligent Center of Zhongtian Iron and Steel Group (Nantong) Co., Ltd. put into trial operation. It is known that the center has a total investment of more than 500 million yuan, with a planned total building area of 13,900 square meters. The main building has a height of 31 meters with five floors. It is simultaneously equipped with a large-scale centralized control system, intelligent manufacturing platform, automatic control system, intelligent sensing, video-screen linkage, etc., to ensure high-integration remote control and safe production of blast furnace, converter and other operating positions, and help the labor productivity of all employees reach 2,000 tons of steel per person per year. (Xie Qinrong/Guangming Picture)