Green and low-carbon development serves as the core pathway for the technological evolution and transformation of the metallurgical industry, aiming to maximize resource and energy efficiency alongside environmental benefits. Hydrogen metallurgy, in particular, represents a key breakthrough technology for achieving zero-carbon emissions in the ironmaking process. For instance, HBIS Group has adopted a proprietary hydrogen-based shaft furnace direct reduction process. On August 28, 2025, the world's first pilot line for fluidized-bed hydrogen metallurgy-powered by green electricity and green hydrogen and constructed by Ansteel Group-achieved full-process integration. Meanwhile, MCC Cedi successfully deployed its independently developed, fully domestically produced pneumatic conveying equipment for hot direct reduced iron (DRI) from hydrogen-based shaft furnaces at Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron & Steel's near-zero-carbon production line; this achievement broke the monopoly held by foreign technologies and realized the seamless integration of the entire process chain, spanning the hydrogen-based shaft furnace, hot transport and hot charging of DRI, and the electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking stage.
Other transformation directions include technologies such as the short-process EAF route utilizing 100% scrap steel and carbon capture and utilization [1]. Nanjing Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. collaborated with research institutions and enterprises to overcome technical bottlenecks in producing high-quality special steel via the short-process EAF route. On December 30, 2025, a project-jointly built by the University of Science and Technology Beijing and Binxin Iron & Steel-successfully commenced operation; it is the world's first facility designed to capture CO2 from converter gas and utilize it as a resource in steelmaking, with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons.
Frontier research in global metallurgical engineering also focuses on green and intelligent technologies. According to the *Global Engineering Frontiers 2023* report, key research directions in the field of metallurgical engineering-such as "research on chaotic nonlinear intensification technology for metallurgical flow fields," "design and process optimization of low-carbon, energy-saving metallurgical reactors," and "low-carbon metallurgical utilization based on renewable energy"-were selected as representative of the industry's future technological trends.
Automation systems have become essential infrastructure for enhancing operational efficiency and achieving goals related to high efficiency, superior quality, low consumption, and environmental protection. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is being deeply integrated into metallurgical production; for example, AI-based visual quality inspection is replacing manual methods, resulting in efficiency and accuracy improvements of over 80%. At the same time, this integration has spawned new roles such as AI steelmaking algorithm engineers and intelligent metallurgy model trainers, with the demand for such positions growing at an average annual rate of 35%. In 2019, Northeastern University launched the R&D of key technologies integrating AI with the steel industry, with the resulting achievements released in August 2025. Additionally, the "large-scale model for metallurgical process perception" developed by CISRI has provided intelligent solutions for the metallurgical sector; applied in areas such as metallographic analysis and steel surface quality inspection, it has significantly enhanced production efficiency and analysis accuracy.
