The steel sector is a fundamental industry for national economy. Carbon reduction pressure drives structural adjustment of production processes. Short-process steelmaking centering on electric arc furnaces is experiencing accelerated development in China.
Conventional long-process steelmaking via blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace involves high-energy-consuming procedures such as sintering, coking and blast furnace ironmaking, leading to substantial carbon emissions. Electric arc furnaces mainly use scrap steel as raw material and eliminate complicated upstream ironmaking steps. Its carbon emission per ton of steel is far lower than that of traditional long-flow routes, making it a critical technology for steel decarbonization. Besides, EAFs feature flexible start-stop operation, fit for small-batch and multi-grade orders. They can produce both ordinary steel grades and high-end special steel, widely applied in construction machinery, rail transit and high-end equipment manufacturing.
A series of domestic policies have been released to promote the orderly development of EAF short-process steelmaking. Differential capacity replacement is permitted for full-scrap EAF projects. Long-process steel mills are encouraged to carry out on-site revamp and transformation. Integrated systems for scrap steel collection, processing and delivery are promoted, laying a solid foundation for the EAF industry.
In terms of equipment technology, domestic EAF manufacturing capability keeps improving. Technologies including ultra-high power supply, foaming slag submerged arc, vertical scrap preheating and eccentric bottom tapping have been widely adopted. Digital twin and intelligent smelting control systems are gradually deployed to automatically regulate smelting processes, shortening tap-to-tap time, reducing power consumption and electrode wear, and improving molten steel quality. Domestic large-scale EAF equipment up to 220 tons has been successfully put into commercial operation. Supporting technologies such as secondary refining and ultra-low emission dust removal systems are also mature, with continuous optimization of equipment stability and energy efficiency indicators.
The domestic EAF industry keeps technical iteration. Future development focuses on EAF powered by green electricity, near-zero-carbon production lines combining hydrogen-based shaft furnace and EAF, integrated ultra-low emission systems and intelligent equipment upgrading. As carbon control policies tighten globally, short-process EAF solutions gain higher market value. Complete sets of domestic EAF equipment and key spare parts attract rising attention from overseas steel mills with advantages in technology and cost.
For revamp or new short-process metallurgy projects overseas, customized EAF packages are available in terms of furnace capacity, power supply, feeding and dust removal auxiliaries. We provide integrated services including equipment design, fabrication, installation guidance and after-sales maintenance, helping overseas customers achieve low-carbon steelmaking and reduce reliance on iron ore and coke.