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Nanjing steelmaker rolls out AI model across operations
Nanjing Iron & Steel Co. says it has deployed YuanYe, a steel industry AI model built with Huawei and partners, across its operations. The company says the system combines AI models with metallurgical process models to support decisions in production, and is part of a wider shift from experience-led work towards data-driven operations.
The article says more than 300 AI applications have been developed, with 25 business agents launched by October 2026. NISCO reports that all key equipment is digitally connected, new product research and development cycles are 50 per cent shorter, and annual costs have fallen by more than CNY100 million. In ironmaking, furnace temperature and fault predictions are reportedly over 90 per cent accurate up to two hours ahead; in rolling, the model has raised the rolling-force hit rate from 88 to 98 per cent.
In short
- NISCO says YuanYe is in use across its steel operations.
- The company reports over CNY100 million in annual cost reductions.
- Its rolling-force prediction hit rate rose from 88 to 98 per cent.
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The case for
Deploying AI across steelmaking could improve consistency, anticipate equipment faults and help operators make faster, better-informed decisions. NISCO’s reported gains in prediction accuracy, product development time and costs suggest the technology may strengthen productivity and competitiveness while allowing staff to focus on complex decisions.
The case against
The reported results come from the company and do not by themselves show how well the system performs across different plants, conditions or over time. Broad reliance on AI in a safety-critical industry also calls for independent validation, clear human oversight and attention to implementation costs, data quality and effects on workers.
Explained simply
Nanjing Iron & Steel, often called NISCO, is a steel producer based in eastern China. Making steel involves linked stages, from turning iron ore into molten iron to shaping it into finished products, with operators managing complex equipment and changing conditions.
YuanYe is an artificial intelligence system developed for the steel industry with Huawei and other partners. It combines general-purpose AI with models of steelmaking processes to help staff make production decisions; NISCO says it has built hundreds of applications and business agents around the system.
Steelmakers are adopting digital tools to improve consistency, equipment management and efficiency. NISCO’s reported figures describe the results it says it has achieved, while the wider significance depends on how reliably such systems perform across different processes and over time.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by The Register as “From Expertise to Intelligence: NISCO Deploys World’s First Swarm-Intelligence Steel Model at Scale”.