On March 20, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) held a press conference on the *Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of Energy-Saving Equipment (2026–2028)*. Li Tai, Deputy Director General of the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), explicitly stated at the conference that efforts will focus on high-energy-consuming industries such as steel, electrolytic aluminum, and cement. Energy conservation and carbon reduction retrofits will be advanced in a phased, industry-by-industry manner, with the goal of continuously increasing the share of production capacity meeting benchmark energy efficiency levels within relevant industries during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. This deployment marks the steel industry’s entry into a phase of systematic and intensive efforts for energy conservation and carbon reduction, providing crucial support for achieving the industrial sector’s carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.
I. A Policy Combination Approach: From Top-Level Design to Special Actions
As a key sector in China’s energy consumption and carbon emissions, progress in energy conservation and carbon reduction within the steel industry directly impacts the realization of the broader “Dual Carbon” goals. According to the latest NDRC arrangements, three major measures will be implemented to drive industry transformation:
First, improving the policy and standards system. Comprehensive work plans for energy conservation and emission reduction, along with action plans for energy conservation and carbon reduction, have been submitted to the State Council for approval. These documents define the targets for energy conservation and carbon reduction in the steel industry. Incentive policies such as green electricity pricing and corporate income tax preferences will be refined, establishing a comprehensive energy efficiency standards system to provide institutional safeguards for industry retrofitting.
Second, implementing targeted special actions. A special action plan for energy conservation and carbon reduction in the steel industry has been issued to guide local governments and enterprises in systematically conducting energy conservation and carbon reduction diagnostics, identifying weaknesses and prominent issues, strengthening project planning and reserves, and developing retrofit plans tailored to individual enterprises. For instance, addressing energy efficiency bottlenecks in core equipment like blast furnaces and converters, the special plan promotes the adoption of energy-efficient motors, transformers, and other equipment, along with the recovery and utilization of waste heat and pressure.
Third, strengthening funding and demonstration leadership. In 2024 and 2025, the NDRC allocated ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to support over 13,000 equipment renewal projects, with the steel industry as a key focus area. These projects have driven a total investment exceeding 1.8 trillion yuan. Estimates indicate that the “Two New” policies (large-scale equipment renewal and trade-in of consumer goods) have collectively generated annual energy savings exceeding 69 million tons of standard coal, reducing carbon emissions by over 17 million tons. Numerous examples of steel enterprises achieving energy efficiency gains through equipment upgrades have emerged.
II. Technology Empowerment: Dual-Driven by Energy-Saving Equipment and Digitalization
The *Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of Energy-Saving Equipment (2026–2028)* provides a clear technological pathway for the steel industry. The plan focuses on the R&D and promotion of six major categories of energy-saving equipment, with several technologies aligning deeply with steel production scenarios:
Regarding upgrades of core energy-using equipment, load equipment in steel enterprises, such as blast furnace blowers, pumps, and compressors, will see accelerated replacement with motors exceeding Tier 1 energy efficiency standards and magnetic suspension fans. For example, the plan proposes promoting technologies like permanent magnet variable frequency speed regulation and high-efficiency stepless flow control for compressors, which can improve fan system efficiency by over 15%. For heating equipment in the rolling process, high-power electric thermal storage devices and induction heating equipment will be promoted to replace traditional coal-fired heating, reducing carbon emission intensity.
In the area of industrial heat pumps and waste heat utilization, processes like sintering and coking in steel enterprises generate substantial low-temperature waste heat. The plan encourages the use of transcritical CO₂ heat pumps to recover this waste heat for producing high-temperature steam, which can be used for plant heating or process applications. It is projected that by 2028, the energy efficiency of heat pump products will increase by more than 10% compared to 2025, potentially pushing the waste heat recovery rate in the steel industry beyond 60%.
Digital transformation is emerging as a new engine. The plan proposes developing a large-scale model for equipment-related energy conservation and carbon reduction. This involves using IoT sensors to collect equipment operational data in real time, combined with AI algorithms to dynamically optimize energy usage strategies. For example, a major steel enterprise piloted an “Intelligent Motor Cluster Control System,” using edge computing to adjust motor speed and load matching in real time, saving 12 million kWh annually for a single production line. Furthermore, digital twin technology will be widely applied in steel plants to simulate energy consumption distribution under different production scenarios, identifying energy-saving potential in advance.
To ensure the effectiveness of the retrofits, the NDRC will strengthen “full-process supervision and services”: On one hand, revising the Administrative Measures for Key Energy-Using and Carbon-Emitting Units to improve the assessment system for enterprise energy conservation and carbon reduction; on the other hand, promoting the Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) model, supporting energy service companies to provide integrated services including diagnosis, retrofitting, and operation and maintenance. For instance, a private steel enterprise adopted an energy cost model, where a specialized agency invested in retrofitting a waste heat power generation system. The enterprise shared the energy-saving benefits without initial investment, reducing annual costs by over 8 million yuan.
Simultaneously, the standards system will be continuously refined. Besides enforcing mandatory energy efficiency standards for motors, transformers, etc., carbon footprint accounting rules for energy-saving equipment in the steel industry will be developed to promote collaborative carbon reduction across the industrial chain. It has been revealed that revisions to the energy efficiency limits standards for key energy-using equipment in the steel industry will be completed by 2026, raising requirements to align with international advanced levels.
III. Continuously Increasing the Share of Benchmark Energy Efficiency Production Capacity During the 15th Five-Year Plan Period
Deputy Director General Li Tai emphasized that energy conservation and carbon reduction in the steel industry is a long-term task requiring “persistent, phased advancement.” According to the plan, by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the share of production capacity meeting benchmark energy efficiency levels in the steel industry is expected to increase by over 20 percentage points compared to current levels, with energy consumption per unit of product decreasing by about 15%. Achieving this goal relies not only on policy push and technological innovation but also on proactive efforts by enterprises. For example, a state-owned steel enterprise, through a combined approach of “equipment upgrades + digital management + waste heat recovery,” has reduced its comprehensive energy consumption per ton of steel to below 540 kg of standard coal, reaching internationally advanced levels.
Currently, China’s steel industry is shifting from “scale expansion” towards “quality and efficiency” development. Energy conservation and carbon reduction present both challenges and opportunities. As policy dividends continue to be released and technological equipment undergoes iterative upgrades, the steel industry is poised to forge new competitive advantages through its green and low-carbon transformation, contributing “steel strength” to China’s industrial carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.
Reprinted from steel.com
