Mission Smart Production1
New technologies and tools are among the most important ways of covering the technological gap required in process optimization and increased competitiveness. Where conventional techniques are mature and robust enough to guarantee stable performance, smart production should contribute to developing more flexible, cost optimal and environmental friendly production processes. Powerful ICT (Information and Communication Technology) solutions are an important enabler towards smart steelmaking processes. In this context important relevant future challenges and opportunities in the steel industry will be discussed and selected applications in steelmaking processes will be presented.