The China Building Materials Federation, Conch Group, and Huawei held an event in Wuhu, China, to showcase their AI model for the cement building materials industry. The model is the first of its kind, marking a significant milestone in the digital transformation of the cement building materials sector. More than 340 government leaders, industry experts, enterprise representatives, and journalists attended the event. Attendees visited demonstration bases such as Baimashan Cement Plant and Conch Wuhu where the model is being implemented.
In April 2024, Conch Group and Huawei began constructing with the support of the China Building Materials Federation an AI model for the cement building materials industry. Since then, Conch Group and Huawei have identified over 200 promising AI application scenarios across 15 categories. These span the entire process, from mining to packaging and shipment. Conch has set up an AI training center using Huawei Cloud Stack. It is using Huawei Cloud Pangu prediction, CV, and NLP models to create an AI operating system that integrates central training, edge inference, cloud-edge synergy, continuous learning, and ongoing optimization.
The AI model in the cement building materials industry leverages extensive cement industry data and industry expertise. Through real-time data analysis and autonomous learning, it has made significant breakthroughs in more than 40 scenarios in five categories: quality control, production optimization, equipment management, safe production, and intelligent Q&A. Where the model has been implemented so far, operators have benefited from dynamic optimization of process parameters, response to exception warnings in seconds, and maximization of resource utilization, introducing a new intelligent engine for high-quality industry development.
More specifically:
In terms of quality control, the current strength detection of cement clinkers is delayed and does not provide timely production guidance. Using the Huawei Cloud Pangu prediction model, real-time recommendations of key quality features enable accurate prediction of 3-day and 28-day clinker strength. The predicted strength values closely match test results, with deviations within 1 MPa and an accuracy rate exceeding 85%. This allows for the optimization of raw material mixtures and cement formulas, shifting from post-event adjustment to real-time control.
Regarding production optimization, a global optimization model for clinker burning is created by integrating data from multiple sources in the production process, studying the control strategies of the burning system, and utilizing expert knowledge. This model provides real-time recommendations for key process parameter targets and automatically adjusts the optimal operational plan based on varying operating conditions. This enables a 1% reduction in standard coal consumption beyond the level-1 energy efficiency baseline. For a 5000 TPD clinker line, this leads to an annual reduction of over 4500 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
As for equipment management, based on the Huawei Cloud Pangu CV model and distributed optical fiber sensors, real-time monitoring and control are implemented for 28 scenarios, including roller exceptions and belt tearing. This enables unmanned inspection for long-distance belt conveyors.
In respect to safe production, AI-based management boosts production efficiency, enables 24/7 monitoring, and achieves a 95% accuracy rate in identifying over 20 events like personnel violations and equipment malfunctions.
With regards to intelligent Q&A, utilizing the NLP model to summarize and consolidate industry knowledge, expert experience, and other information, provides a 'smart digital assistant' for employees that answers plainly phrased queries.
The AI model in the cement building materials industry represents not only a significant achievement for Conch Group in its digital transformation journey but also embodies the result of deep collaboration between Conch Group and Huawei. Conch Group and Huawei plan to continue to use advanced technologies like AI to fuel intelligent transformation, and foster steady and rapid growth in sectors like cement, building materials, and the wider manufacturing sector.
Source: https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2025/4/conch-cement-ai
