Top Silicon Steel  2025-07-21

On July 16, the first batch of steel products officially rolled off the production line at Wuhan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd.'s (WISCO) new energy non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) facility. This marks another landmark event in China's steel industry history, following WISCO's No.1 Blast Furnace and the "1.7-meter" rolling mill project.

Reporter: WISCO's new energy NOES line today officially produced its first batch of products. The most remarkable product in this batch is this variant – with a thickness of merely 0.1mm, equivalent to an A4 sheet of paper. This currently represents the world's most advanced non-oriented electrical steel product.

Non-oriented electrical steel serves as core material for manufacturing precision motors and medical equipment, hailed as the "artisanal masterpiece" among steel products due to its extreme manufacturing difficulty and high value-added nature. Beyond new energy vehicles, it finds applications in cutting-edge fields such as robotics and low-altitude aircraft. On June 29, 2023, WISCO dismantled the 44-year-old "1.7-meter" rolling mill originally imported from Japan, initiating construction of the new energy NOES production line on the original site. Today, this high-end, eco-friendly silicon steel super factory has officially commenced operation, achieving 100% independent R&D of product technology with globally leading parameters, and has accomplished reverse exports to Japan.

Wang Bo, Chief Researcher at Baosteel Central Research Institute's Silicon Steel Research Institute: "Previously the thinnest gauge was 0.35mm. We now achieve 0.1mm thickness. Our objective is to realize efficient, low-cost production, providing solid material assurance for new quality productive forces."

This production line is exclusively dedicated to new energy vehicle manufacturing, with an annual designed capacity of 550,000 tons – sufficient to supply core steel materials for 4.4 million new energy vehicles annually.

Tang Shuang, Plant Manager of WISCO's New Energy NOES Division: "Compared to previous capacity, our high-grade product output has doubled. The Qingshan Base will become the world's largest single-site production base for premium non-oriented electrical steel."

Currently, this factory has achieved full-process green production, reducing carbon emissions by 4 million tons annually – equivalent to the yearly carbon absorption capacity of 360,000 hectares of forest.

Nearby, WISCO's high-end oriented electrical steel (OES) green manufacturing structural optimization project is under accelerated construction. Upon completion next year, it will annually produce 220,000 tons of premium oriented electrical steel for renewable energy sectors including wind power, photovoltaics, and nuclear power.