Nanjing Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. (NISCO) has commercially deployed the world's first steel model powered by swarm intelligence, the YuanYe Steel Large Model, across multiple scenarios at scale. The announcement, made via Media OutReach Newswire, signals a significant step in the industrial application of artificial intelligence, moving beyond single-point automation toward integrated, intelligence-driven operations that could reshape how traditional manufacturers approach efficiency and cost reduction.
Developed with Huawei and ecosystem partners, YuanYe differs from general-purpose monolithic models by fusing multiple AI models with the steel industry's metallurgical mechanism models. This dual-drive, multi-model cluster architecture features a "right brain" for probabilistic computing and a "left brain" for precise decision-making. Powered by sensing data from millions of operational technology data points across 26 business domains, NISCO has achieved real-time digital twin mapping within its intelligent operations center, enabling the entire steelmaking process to become not only visible but also capable of precise control and intelligent assessment.
The implications for NISCO's operations are substantial. The company reports that 100% of its key equipment is now connected and digitally controlled, new product research and development cycles have been shortened by 50%, and annual costs have been reduced by over CNY100 million (approximately US$15 million). As of October 2026, NISCO had launched 25 business agents covering scenarios from visual quality inspection and process optimization to production scheduling and operations management, setting a new benchmark for digital and intelligent steel transformation.
Breakthroughs have been achieved in four core scenarios. In ironmaking, YuanYe leverages blast furnace sensor data and metallurgical mechanism analysis to perform real-time dynamic simulations, enabling operators to predict temperatures and identify issues two hours in advance with over 90% accuracy. This shifts furnace operations from reactive remediation to proactive pre-control, increasing prime-grade molten iron yield by over 10% while significantly cutting unit energy consumption. In rolling, the model's rolling-force prediction achieves millisecond-level response, narrowing thickness tolerance to ±0.2 mm and reducing steel thickness deviation to 1.9%, a world-leading standard. The rolling-force hit rate has jumped from 88% to 98%, supporting annual output of over 2.5 million tons of steel plates and increasing the overall yield rate by 0.5%.
In quality inspection, an integrated smart metallographic inspection system built on YuanYe has achieved full-process automation, raising inspection accuracy to over 95% and shortening per-sample inspection time from 10 minutes to 3–5 minutes, an 80% increase in overall efficiency. In energy and environmental control, the S-Link Intelligent Agent for Gas and Flue Gas Sulfur Control integrates 602 process parameters to issue precise sulfur-risk warnings one hour in advance with over 95% accuracy, slashing natural gas co-firing consumption by nearly 50% and reducing downtime caused by emission exceedance by over 25%, delivering more than CNY600,000 (approximately US$90,000) in annual economic benefits.
NISCO has deployed over 300 AI models across its plants, alongside more than 1,000 low-code agents and lightweight applications built independently by frontline employees. Li Jinyan, General Manager of the Digital and Intelligent Integrated Development Department and Director of the AI Research Institute at NISCO, emphasized that digital and intelligent transformation is human-centric, aiming to unleash human potential rather than replace people. Cheng Yongfu, Senior Industrial Solution Expert at Huawei's Steel & Non-ferrous BU, noted that the real value of industrial AI can only be realized when it expands from single-point applications to comprehensive integration with production, operations, and management.
Looking ahead, NISCO plans to team up with Huawei and other partners to explore dedicated data centers for smart steel plants, centered on an AI-native three-tier architecture and powered by the YuanYe model. The company aims to provide a replicable and scalable benchmark for the digital and intelligent transformation of the global steel and manufacturing industries, suggesting that the model's impact could extend well beyond NISCO's own operations.
