The 13th China International Steel Congress, hosted by the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA), kicked off 1 September 2024 in Shanghai. Under the banner of ‘Synergy-Win-Win-Green-Sustainable’, the five-day conference brought together the world’s steel associations, key steel producers, representatives of upstream and downstream enterprises in the steel industry chain, and suppliers of metallurgical technology and equipment to discuss ways to promote synergies as well as realize win-win solutions for and facilitate the sustainable development of the industry chain. Peter Langner, President and CEO of SMS group China, was invited to attend the event and shared his innovative technologies and experiences in the ‘Future Steel Technology’ session on September 2, including practical examples of SMS’s full lifecycle partnership and support in the decarbonization of China’s iron and steel industry.

Providing our customers with ongoing support as a lifecycle partner

China is the world’s largest steel producer, and the industry is currently moving from a phase of ‘incremental development’ to one of ‘stock optimization.’ Product restructuring is accelerating, and the industry’s green and low-carbon transformation continues to advance.

“What our customers need today is no longer technology that allows them to increase production, but solutions that help them move from ‘manufacturing’ to ‘quality manufacturing’, improve quality and efficiency, and maintain profitability,” says Peter Langner: “What they need is a lifecycle partnership.”

With its comprehensive expertise in engineering, project management, electrical and automation systems, digitalization, and technical services, SMS has everything it needs to support its customers throughout the entire lifecycle of their equipment and be their performance partner. The strengths SMS has as a full lifecycle partner lie not only in plant performance, but also in overall performance. SMS builds partnerships through detailed consultations and assessments, identifying optimization potential and developing targeted plans and strategies. The range of services covers shop floor operations, outsourcing, software solutions, automation upgrades, the supply of spare parts, and the provision of specialized workshops from SMS, thus ensuring continuous support and improvement for customers through long-term business relationships.

To put the full lifecycle partner concept successfully into practice, SMS has restructured its service system, eliminating the traditional boundaries between the Electrical & Automation, SMS Digital and Technical Service departments and integrating more than 2,000 specialists into the integrated CoE Automation, Digital & Service Solutions. To simplify the organizational structure and facilitate collaboration, the goal is to offer advanced integrated solutions that strengthen customer ties by providing not only tangible benefits in both the traditional OEM business and the service business, but also ongoing support for production processes, technology, and maintenance.

Paving the way for the future of China’s steel industry with cutting-edge technology

The challenges ahead are clear: the steel industry must go “green.” To reduce carbon emissions and meet stringent environmental standards, China’s steel industry is actively adopting innovative technologies and sustainable initiatives.

China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) has initiated the construction of an EPD platform for the steel industry, which went live in 2022, to promote the green and low-carbon development of this sector. This is where SMS group’s Viridis Energy & Sustainability Suite comes in: it is a comprehensive digital solution that offers the flexibility of tracking corporate and product carbon footprints and improving energy efficiency. Peter Langner reiterated his firm belief that there is great potential for cooperation between SMS group and CISA as well as with local Chinese steel companies in this area.

In terms of steel production processes, decarbonization pathways vary from country to country and region to region, with direct reduction growing significantly in countries with access to high-quality iron ore and low-cost energy sources such as solar and hydroelectric power. However, with the pressure on access to high-quality iron ore, hydrogen supply, clean energy, and finance, there is also a need for more practical decarbonization solutions for the steel industry. This is particularly important in China, which has hundreds of blast furnaces in operation, many of which are new and cannot simply be dismantled to make way for direct reduction.

This is where SMS group offers its blue blast furnace (BBF) solution. It has the advantage of low investment costs as well as the potential to quickly cut carbon emissions by around 15 percent. Its distinctive features are the production of syngas and the blowing of syngas through a new surround pipe in the lower blast furnace area. The syngas, which consists mainly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, can be used as a reducing gas to replace coke and facilitate the reduction of iron-containing charge in the furnace body area.

Based on the emission reduction potential of the blue blast furnace, SMS is working on the development of the Paul Wurth EASyMelt (electrically assisted syngas smelter). The EASyMelt can be realized through the step-by-step implementation of several technological elements, which together achieve near-zero emission ironmaking. Compared to the direct reduced iron (DRI) + electric arc furnace (EAF) process route, EASyMelt technology saves up to 50 percent in investment costs and reduces potential CO₂ emissions by 60 percent or more. As an alternative technology to DRI, it can fill the gap between iron ore supply and the demand for green steel.

In flat steel production, the new generation of CSP^® Nexus technology from SMS follows the path toward energy and cost-efficient CSP^® technology. CSP^® Nexus is equipped with a straight-arc continuous caster, which considerably improves the yield and quality of single-stream production lines. The high throughput of the continuous caster enables a very efficient ‘endless production mode’; the separation of the roughing and finishing processes permit highly flexible and free adjustment of the roughing mill speed; and the roughing mill has a very high rolling speed in order to reduce temperature losses during the rolling process. The CSP^® Nexus sets new industry standards in terms of efficiency, flexibility, and sustainability.

As China pushes forward to achieve its ‘dual carbon’ goals, decarbonizing the steel industry is a must and requires the concerted efforts of all stakeholders in the industry chain. Through innovative technologies such as EASyMelt and CSP^® Nexus, as well as further collaboration on digital solutions, sustainability initiatives, and regulatory frameworks, SMS group will continue to work to reduce the carbon footprint of steel production and join forces with all parties to pave the way for a greener and more sustainable future for China’s steel industry.