Recently, the 3rd 2025 Development Strategy Seminar of the National Key Laboratory of Advanced Refractories was held in Shanghai. More than 30 participants, including Li Hongxia, Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chief Scientist of China Baowu, Chief Scientist of Sinosteel Luonai, and Director of the National Key Laboratory of Advanced Refractories, Yi Pengfei, Minister of Science and Technology Innovation Department of China National Metallurgical Group Corporation (Sinosteel), Wang Wenwu, Deputy General Manager of Sinosteel Luonai and Deputy Director of the National Key Laboratory of Advanced Refractories, as well as leaders and core representatives from the laboratory's constructing units such as Sinosteel Luoyang Refractories Research Institute Co., Ltd., Shanghai University and Wuhan University of Science and Technology, attended the seminar to jointly map out the future development blueprint of the laboratory.

In his speech, Wu Jianyong, Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai University, a co-constructing unit, stated that the university will continue to strengthen support and guarantee conditions and fully back the construction and development of the National Key Laboratory. Wang Wenwu delivered a special Party lecture entitled Party Building Leading, Sci-tech Innovation Empowering: Forging a New Pattern of Laboratory Construction with High-quality Party Building. Centering on implementing the guiding principles of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the lecture focused on the main line of deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, anchored the core tracks for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, and clarified the political direction for the construction and development of the National Key Laboratory.

In her address, Academician Li Hongxia emphasized that the laboratory should stand at the height of serving the national scientific and technological innovation strategy and strengthen the construction of an innovative talent echelon. By establishing an interdisciplinary cooperation mechanism and improving the long-term incentive mechanism, the laboratory should fully unleash the innovative potential of young research teams. Meanwhile, it should focus on the major national strategic needs, systematically plan the cultivation project of landmark scientific research achievements, carry out organized research on tackling key core technological problems, and effectively build the laboratory into a strategic force supporting China's self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology.

At the seminar, representatives from the three constructing units respectively reported on their 2025 work summaries, with a focus on the laboratory's assessment indicators and the completion of tasks assigned at the 2nd seminar. Participants conducted in-depth discussions on key topics such as the layout of key scientific research directions for 2026-2027, the funding directions of open research projects, the official LOGO and the website construction content of the National Key Laboratory, further forging consensus and clarifying tasks.

Held at a critical stage of the laboratory's construction, this strategic seminar has clearly formulated the development goals and implementation paths for the next two years. As the leading constructing unit of the National Key Laboratory, Sinosteel Luoyang Refractories Research Institute Co., Ltd. will give full play to the company's advantages in talents, platforms and resources, advance hand in hand and engage in joint discussion and co-creation with co-constructing units. It will build the National Key Laboratory into a nationally strategic sci-tech force with important influence in the field of refractories, and make positive contributions to enhancing the efficiency of China's innovation system.