What is the future development trend of steel structures?

The future development trend of steel structures is promising, and significant progress will be achieved in multiple aspects, as follows:

Policy guidance to support development: National policies strongly support it, such as the '14th Five Year Plan' goal proposed by the China Steel Structure Association. By the end of 2025, the national steel structure consumption will reach about 140 million tons, accounting for more than 15% of the country's crude steel production, and the proportion of steel structure buildings to newly built construction area will reach more than 15%; By 2035, the annual consumption of steel structures will reach over 200 million tons, accounting for more than 25% of crude steel production, and the proportion of steel structure buildings in new construction area will gradually reach around 40%. In the context of the 'dual carbon' target, the green, environmentally friendly and sustainable characteristics of steel structures are in line with policy requirements, and will play a key role in the low-carbon, environmentally friendly and upgrading transformation process of the construction industry.

Market demand continues to grow: With the acceleration of urbanization and the promotion of infrastructure construction, the demand for steel structure products in public buildings, housing, factories, bridges and other fields continues to increase. From a global perspective, the proportion of steel structure production to crude steel production in developed countries is generally high, with the United States accounting for over 50% and Japan accounting for 20%, while China only accounts for 10.89%, indicating huge market development potential.

Technological innovation leads change: In terms of digitization, core technologies such as BIM and digital twins will run through the entire life cycle and industry chain of buildings, achieving information management and intelligent applications. In terms of intelligent construction, the integration of artificial intelligence technology and engineering construction technology, as well as the application of intelligent algorithms and intelligent construction robots, will drive the industry towards a higher level of intelligence development. In terms of material innovation, new steel structure products such as high-strength steel and refractory steel will continue to be introduced to improve the performance of steel structures.

Industrial integration, optimization and upgrading: Currently, the concentration of China's steel structure market is relatively low. With the improvement of technological level and intelligent manufacturing, the industry threshold is raised, and enterprises may usher in integrated development, which is conducive to the healthy development of the industry, forming economies of scale, and improving overall competitiveness.

Green development has become mainstream: Steel structure buildings naturally have green characteristics and meet the requirements of sustainable development. Throughout the entire lifecycle, it can reduce the use of building raw materials, recycle steel, and achieve energy conservation, emission reduction, and environmental protection goals through the use of green building materials, material recycling, promotion of green design, construction, operation and maintenance management, and utilization of new energy.