As part of their commitment to green development and reducing energy consumption in China’s aluminum industry, Chinalco initiated a digital demonstration project for their Zhongrun Aluminum Factory. They retained Shenyang Aluminum & Magnesium Engineering & Research Institute (SAMI) to apply digital twin technology throughout design, construction, operations, and maintenance of the plant. The voluminous data and multiple disciplines spread across 52 subprojects presented data integration and coordination issues. To accurately link 300 gigabytes of design and construction data with a 3D model to manage the facility, SAMI needed open modeling technology and a connected data environment.

Already an existing user, SAMI selected Bentley applications to develop an enterprise digital factory management platform and build the aluminum industry’s first plant-wide digital twin. Bentley’s integrated applications reduced modeling time by 15%, saving more than 200 work days. Digitization factory operations reduces annual management costs by CNY 6 million, unpredictable equipment failures by 40%, and environmental emissions by 5%. The successful project digitization promotes sustainable, eco-friendly practices.