ZTE Corporation in partnership with Wuhan Iron and Steel Co. (WISCO) and China Unicom, announced that their joint project “5G Fully Connected Smart Steel Factory” has earned the “Best Mobile Innovation for Connected Economy” at the Global Mobile (GLOMO) Awards during MWC Barcelona 2024. The accolade is a recognition of their impressive efforts in changing the way people work in factories and digitizing the workplace.
Since 2020, the collaborative efforts between WISCO and its partners have led to the establishment of the “5G Fully Connected Smart Steel Factory” project. This project has now evolved into the largest 5G private network in the global steel industry, achieving an impressive 99% 5G coverage within the factory premises. Leveraging this robust 5G private network infrastructure, the project has deployed 25 steel applications across six major scenarios. These applications span intelligent logistics, production control, digital equipment management, energy and environmental control, quality control, and safety management. To streamline operations, the factory has established a company-level control center along with dedicated operation centers for iron making, steelmaking, CSP, and hot rolling. This integrated approach has paved the way for a seamless, all-in-one-click steelmaking process.
The 5G private network has been applied in the key production field of WISCO. More than 100 overhead traveling cranes have completed the unmanned reconstruction. Since the implementation of smart molten iron transportation, efficiency has continuously improved. Notably, the temperature drop of molten iron is less than 100 degrees during transportation, setting a new record for extreme efficiency, and resulting in an annual reduction of over 750,000 tons of carbon emissions.
Li Xiaotong, Vice President at ZTE, stated, “We are honored to receive this award on behalf of the joint project team. This project stands as one of our significant practical achievements in the digital upgrade of the steel metallurgy industry and process manufacturing industry. GSMA’s recognition of this project will also become a driving force for our continued progress. ZTE’s end-to-end 5G private network solution applied in the industry park of WISCO amidst high-temperature and electromagnetic interference boasts the same network capability as the industrial ethernet with the added advantages of more flexible deployment and more convenient access. Moving forward, ZTE is committed to working with more industry partners to promote the digital transformation and intelligent upgrade of the steel industry.”
