Leading Indian steel manufacturer JSW Steel is set to commission a state-of-the-art blast furnace at its Dolvi Works facility in Maharashtra by the end of March 2026. Partnering with SMS group and Paul Wurth, the new furnace is designed to produce 4.5 million tonnes of hot metal per year and incorporates advanced technologies for carbon footprint reduction, including hot syngas and coke oven gas injection. This expansion is part of JSW's strategic roadmap to increase its total domestic steel production capacity from 34.2 MTPA toward a goal of 50 MTPA by 2030.

India is projected to increase its iron ore imports to a seven-year high of 14 million tonnes in the 2025/2026 financial year to support its rapidly expanding steel production capacity. This trend reflects a strategic shift by Indian steelmakers toward sourcing high-grade international ores to optimize blast furnace efficiency as domestic crude steel production targets continue to rise. Despite being a major producer and exporter of iron ore, India's growing appetite for premium-grade feedstock is expected to make it a more prominent player in the global seaborne iron ore trade.

Steel production capacity in the ASEAN region is on track to reach 147.2 million tonnes by the end of 2026. Much of this growth is located in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, driven by large-scale Chinese investments. However, experts warn of "carbon lock-in" as only 12.8% of these new expansions utilize low-carbon Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) technology.

As the world focuses on climate change and pursues sustainable development, countries are actively promoting the transformation of their energy structures. The involvement of new energy vehicle (NEV) enterprises in the eVTOL sector is emerging as a major trend in the current transportation landscape, highlighting the importance of integrating these two fields. What sparks will fly when electric vehicles (EVs) meet the low-altitude economy? This event, centered around the entire industry chain of NEV & eVTOL electric drive systems, will focus on areas such as "power systems, electric drives, motor and electronic control, low-altitude aircraft, and innovative raw materials." It will feature a high-quality opening ceremony, a high-level dinner, an awards ceremony, procurement and supply business matchmaking, a study tour of the new energy industry, and "1+2+3" themed forums. Hosted by SMM and with grand participation from Hunan Jinci New Material Technology Co., Ltd., the "2025 SMM (4th) Electric Drive System Conference" will be held on June 20-21, 2025, in Loudi, Hunan Province. The theme of this conference is "New Quality Drives, Low-Altitude Takeoff." We extend a special invitation to enterprises in the low-altitude sector and the NEV industry chain to join us, alongside industry leaders, in building the 2025 SMM (4th) Electric Drive System Conference into a vital platform for the rapid development of the new energy industry. Click the registration form to register for the conference immediately. We look forward to meeting you there. Booth Number: C7 Hunan Jinci New Material Technology Co., Ltd. is a high-tech smart manufacturing company located in the picturesque and conveniently accessible "Materials Valley" of the Loudi Economic and Technological Development Zone. It specializes in the R&D of magnetic materials, silicon steel production, silicon steel slitting, core stamping, stator winding, rotor aluminum casting, and the production of metal magnetic iron-silicon-aluminum powder. The company covers an area of 200 acres, with nearly 100,000 m² dedicated to factory buildings. It is affiliated with Jinci Group, founded in 1992 in Chicago, US, by dual Ph.D. holder Xie Jinqiang. The group established the JQM brand and owns seven companies, forming a modern conglomerate that integrates magnetic material manufacturing, silicon steel production, core stamping, steel trading, non-ferrous metal trading, and asset management. Its major clients include internationally and domestically renowned enterprises such as General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Harman, Midea, Gree, and Panasonic. By integrating the group's market and technological resources, the company plans a total investment of 3.2 billion yuan to establish a base with an annual silicon steel production capacity of 600,000 mt and a motor core stamping capacity of 400,000 mt. It aims to become a high-tech smart manufacturing company with an annual output value exceeding 10 billion yuan in the fields of "new materials, new energy, functional materials, and magnetic materials." (Left: YBPKK high-voltage motor stator core, Right: YBPKK high-voltage motor cast aluminum rotor core) (Left: YKK high-voltage motor stator core (2), Right: YKK high-voltage motor stator core) (Left: Sector-shaped stator core of high-torque permanent magnet motor, Right: Rotor core of high-torque permanent magnet motor) (Left: Stator core of low-voltage large-power motor, Right: Core of permanent magnet motor for NEV) The company currently owns over 80 sets of equipment, including high-speed punching machines for high-speed stamping, blanking single punching, slot punching, compound high-speed punching, stator pressing, vertical/centrifugal aluminum casting, laser cutting, silicon steel slitting equipment, and general-purpose machine tools for mold repairing. It has obtained ISO9001 quality management system, ISO14001 environmental management system, and OHSAS18001 occupational health and safety management system certifications. The company's main products include motor core series for NEVs, household motor core series, industrial motor core series, and large-scale wind turbine generator core series. Become China's most excellent motor core supplier! Click here to participate in the 2025 SMM (4th) Electric Drive System Conference immediately SMM Conference Contact Person Fan Cui 13816522387 fancui@smm.cn

SMM News on May 30: To gain in-depth insights into the cutting-edge technologies and market trends of motor cores, strengthen the integration of upstream and downstream resources, and empower the efficient, intelligent, and green transformation of the motor industry, a delegation led by Xu De'an, Director of the Marketing Department, and Fan Cui, Director of the Motor Business Department, from SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (SMM), visited Hunan Jinci New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hunan Jinci") on May 26. Xie Jinqiang, Chairman of Hunan Jinci, warmly received the delegation. Both parties engaged in pragmatic and in-depth exchanges on the development of the silicon steel industry, core technological innovations in motor cores, market challenges and opportunities, as well as future cooperation directions. In the face of stringent requirements for motor core performance (high magnetic induction, low iron loss, and high dimensional accuracy) and green manufacturing processes in fields such as new energy vehicles (NEVs), high-efficiency industrial motors, and high-end home appliances, collaborative innovation across the industry chain is crucial. This exchange was highly productive, significantly enhancing mutual trust and consensus between SMM and Hunan Jinci, and paving the way for the two parties to establish a close cooperative relationship. As an industry-leading information and service platform, SMM highly recognizes Hunan Jinci's technological strength and development potential, and looks forward to complementary advantages between the two parties. They expect to conduct in-depth cooperation in promoting technological upgrades of motor cores, expanding application scenarios, enhancing the competitiveness of the industry chain, and jointly contributing to the green and high-quality development of China's high-end manufacturing industry. Hunan Jinci New Material Technology Co., Ltd. Hunan Jinci New Material Technology Co., Ltd., located in the picturesque and conveniently accessible "Materials Valley" of the Loudi Economic and Technological Development Zone, is a high-tech intelligent manufacturing company integrating the R&D of magnetic materials, silicon steel production, silicon steel slitting, core stamping, stator winding, rotor aluminum casting, and the production of metal magnetic iron-silicon-aluminum powder. It covers an area of 200 acres, with nearly 100,000 m² of factory space. The company is affiliated with the Jinci Group, founded by Dr. Xie Jinqiang in Chicago, US, in 1992. The group has established the JQM brand and owns seven companies, forming a modern conglomerate currently engaged in magnetic material manufacturing, silicon steel production, core stamping, steel trading, non-ferrous metal trading, and asset management. Its major clients include well-known international and domestic enterprises such as General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Harman, Midea, Gree, and Panasonic. The company is integrating the group's market and technological resources, with a proposed total investment of 3.2 billion yuan, to build a motor core stamping base with an annual silicon steel production capacity of 600,000 mt and 400,000 mt, and to establish a high-tech intelligent manufacturing company with an annual output value exceeding 10 billion yuan in "new materials, new energy, functional materials, and magnetic materials." (Left: YBPKK high-voltage motor stator core, Right: YBPKK high-voltage motor cast aluminum rotor core) (Left: YKK high-voltage motor stator core, Right: YKK high-voltage motor stator core (2)) (Left: High-torque permanent magnet motor sector stator core, Right: High-torque permanent magnet motor rotor core) (Left: Low-voltage large power motor stator core, Right: NEV permanent magnet motor core) The company currently owns over 80 sets of equipment, including high-speed punching machines for blanking, high-speed punching machines for notching, compound high-speed punching machines, stator pressing machines, vertical/centrifugal aluminum casting machines, laser cutting machines, silicon steel slitting machines, and general-purpose machine tools for die repair. It has obtained ISO9001 quality management system, ISO14001 environmental management system, and OHSAS18001 occupational health and safety management system certifications. The company's main products include motor core series for NEVs, household motor core series, industrial motor core series, and large-scale wind turbine generator core series. Strive to be China's most outstanding motor core supplier! SMM Conference Contact Person: Cui Fan Tel: 13816522387 Email: fancui@smm.cn

1. Procurement Conditions The purchaser for this procurement project, which includes items such as copper cooling staves (BG2025050130) (BGBCGFHGXHD250523212420), is the Production Spare Parts Procurement Department of the Procurement Center of Benxi Iron & Steel (Group) Sheet Co., Ltd. The funding for this procurement project is self-raised, and the project now meets the procurement conditions. A public inquiry and comparison is now being conducted. 2. Project Overview and Procurement Scope 2.1 Project Name: Items such as copper cooling staves (BG2025050130) 2.2 Alternative procurement methods in case of procurement failure: Transition to direct procurement or negotiation procurement 2.3 For details on the procurement content, scope, and scale of this project, please refer to the attached "Material List Attachment.pdf". 3. Bidder Qualification Requirements 3.1 Consortium bidding is not allowed for this procurement. 3.2 For this procurement, the bidder must meet the following qualification requirements: (1) A production-oriented business license 3.3 For this procurement, the bidder must meet the following registered capital requirements: Registered capital for production-oriented enterprises: 500 (10,000 yuan) or above 3.4 For this procurement, the bidder must meet the following performance requirements: The bidder is required to provide at least one contract and corresponding invoice for newly manufactured copper cooling staves for blast furnaces with a capacity of 2580 m³ or above from a steel enterprise with a crude steel production capacity of 10 million mt or above in the past three years (data sourced from the SteelHome website, with the query URL being https://news.steelhome.cn). If the contract or invoice does not clearly indicate a blast furnace capacity of 2580 m³ or above, written and stamped certification materials from the end-user are required. The performance amount for copper cooling staves should reach 30% or above of the supplier's tax-exclusive bid amount, based on the tax-exclusive amount on the invoice (the period is within three years prior to the release of the tender announcement, and both the contract and corresponding invoice must fall within this period). (1) The supply performance must be the direct performance of the bidder or the approved party. (2) Performance materials such as supply performance contracts and VAT invoices should be provided in accordance with the original content to facilitate verification of authenticity. 3.5 For this procurement, the bidder must meet the following capability, financial, and other requirements: Financial requirements: Please refer to the attachment (if necessary) Capability requirements: Please refer to the attachment (if necessary) Other requirements: The bidder should provide the following qualification documents (color scanned copies or photocopies with the official seal of the unit are acceptable): (1) Provide the bidder's (company's) business license. (2) A scanned copy or photo of the original tax registration certificate (or duplicate), except for those with a unified social credit code certificate. (3) Scanned copy or photo of the original Organization Code Certificate (or duplicate), except for those with the "three certificates integrated" (the Business License, Organization Code Certificate, and Tax Registration Certificate integrated into one). (4) ID card of the authorized agent. (5) Power of Attorney from the legal representative. (6) Supply performance. 3.6 For projects that must undergo tendering in accordance with the law in this procurement, the bids submitted by dishonest persons subject to enforcement shall be invalid. 4. Acquisition of Procurement Documents 4.1 All interested bidders are requested to log in to the Ansteel Smart Tendering and Bidding Platform at http://bid.ansteel.cn to download the electronic procurement documents from 13:15 on May 24, 2025, to 13:15 on June 3, 2025 (Beijing time, the same hereinafter). Click to view tender details: 》Procurement Announcement for Copper Cooling Stave and Other Projects (BG2025050130)

Reuters quoted Sandeep Poundrik, Secretary of India's Ministry of Steel, as saying on April 25 that amid the increase in steel production capacity and the limited supply of coking coal, a key raw material for steelmaking, India would accelerate coking coal imports. He stated that by 2030, India's coking coal imports would rise from the current approximately 58 million mt to 160 million mt. According to data from India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the country imported a cumulative 56.9011 million mt of coking coal in 2024, up 0.64% YoY. Of this, 45% of imports came from Australia, but imports from Australia decreased by 10.80% YoY. Poundrik had earlier stated earlier last week that India was on track to achieve its goal of expanding steel production capacity to 300 million mt by 2030. Reuters reported that in the 2025 fiscal year, India's steel production was 151.1 million mt, with a total steelmaking capacity of 200 million mt.

[SMM Hot Topic] According to data released by the World Steel Association (WSA) compiled by SMM, Indonesia is one of the major steel producers in Southeast Asia. In 2024, Indonesia's crude steel production is expected to reach 17 million mt, an increase of 0.9% compared to 16.8 million mt in 2023, ranking 14th globally...

[Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Suspends Steel Production Capacity Replacement Work] The General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued a notice on suspending the work of steel production capacity replacement. All regions are required to suspend the publicity and announcement of new steel production capacity replacement plans from August 23, 2024. Any regions that continue to publish or announce steel production capacity replacement plans in violation of this notice will be deemed as illegally increasing steel production capacity and will be reported as negative examples.

[SMM Brief Analysis: How Have Blast Furnace Capacities Changed During the Implementation of the Measures for the Replacement of Steel Industry Production Capacity?] On August 20, 2024, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice on suspending the replacement of steel production capacity. Starting from August 23, 2024, all regions will suspend the publicity and announcement of new steel production capacity replacement plans. SMM has summarized the blast furnace capacity replacement situation since 2017...