The signing ceremony for Zenith Steel Group's near-zero carbon electric furnace premium steel project and soft information service industry project was held in Haimen district on Dec 17. A university-enterprise cooperation project with Shanghai Jiao Tong University was also launched. 

These three projects focus on green manufacturing, digital services, and industry-academia-research integration, respectively, marking a significant step forward in Zenith's transformation and development efforts. 

The near-zero-carbon electric furnace high-quality steel project, the main focus of the agreement,  has a total investment exceeding 3 billion yuan ($426.05 million). 

Its first phase covers approximately 200 mu (13.33 hectares) and will construct a 100-metric-ton electric furnace with supporting facilities, including integrated wind-solar-storage and low-carbon rolling line systems. The project is expected to be put into production by the end of 2026, with an expected annual increase in output value of about 6 billion yuan. 

The soft information service industry project will focus on the development and sale of AI foundational and algorithm software, as well as embodied intelligent system platforms and hardware. 

The university-enterprise cooperation project between Zenith Steel Group and Shanghai Jiao Tong University provides solid technical support for industrial upgrading. The two parties plan to jointly build a laboratory to conduct major industry-academia-research collaborations. 

Zenith Steel Group in Haimen district, Nantong. [Photo/WeChat account: haimenfabu]