On February 10, 2026, the 1,780 mm hot continuous rolling production line of Jinan Steel Group achieved complete success in its one-time hot load commissioning. Since then, this production line has embarked on a meteoric journey defined by the keyword "extreme": starting from the boundary of its maximum design thickness of 25.4 mm, it has crossed three thickness thresholds—25.75 mm, 28.0 mm, and 30.0 mm—step by step; each leap in the number redefines the limit of the line's capability.

Behind this tough battle, the project team of the Institute of Engineering Technology, USTB (hereinafter referred to as "IET, USTB") has always stood on the front line, forging a steel backbone for Jinan Steel Group that can withstand extreme tests.

Five Production Lines: Forging Strategic Mutual Trust

In May 2025, Jinan Steel Group and the University of Science and Technology Beijing officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement, launching all-round cooperation in talent cultivation, scientific and technological R&D, achievement transformation, and other fields. The automation systems of the five hot continuous rolling strip production lines under Jinan Steel Group were all designed and commissioned by IET, USTB; this accumulation of trust "line by line" is the solid foundation of the strategic partnership.

As the core project of the Group's "relocating the city into the park" initiative, the 1,780 mm project saw IET, USTB solely responsible for the integration and commissioning of core systems including the entire line's L1 basic automation, L2 process control models, L3 manufacturing execution system (MES), and instrumentation, endowing the steel giant with a "smart brain."

Extreme Breakthrough: From 25.4 mm to 30.0 mm

The design thickness upper limit of Jinan Steel Group's 1,780 mm unit is 25.4 mm. The closer to the upper limit, the greater the rolling load, the less stable the strip threading, and the more difficult the coiling and shaping. Jinan Steel Group formed a special tackling group, with IET, USTB providing control system technical support; the two sides cooperated deeply to overcome the difficulties:

August 14 — the 25.75 mm × 1,550 mm ultra-thick specification was successfully rolled in one pass, with all core indicators meeting standards;

September 28 — 28.0 mm × 1,550 mm was smoothly produced; the team iterated the process scheme and overcame the challenges of greater rolling load and coiling and shaping;

September 29 — the 30.0 mm × 1,550 mm ultra-thick strip was successfully trial-rolled in one pass, refreshing the upper limit of the line's rolling capability, exceeding the design capability by about 20%.

The Road of Extremes Knows No End

From the design limit of 25.4 mm to 30.0 mm—in less than eight months, the 1,780 mm production line of Jinan Steel Group has interpreted with a series of breakthroughs that "the extreme is meant to be broken." IET, USTB and Jinan Steel Group will continue to join hands, writing a new chapter in the grand tide of the high-end, intelligent, and green transformation of China's iron and steel industry.