UNITECR 2025 has announced its theme for next year’s event: Sustainability Meets Intelligence – Shaping the Future of Refractories.
Our theme aims to draw together all strands of thought that point to a smart revolution for a greener refractories world. It is clear that industry generally promotes and accelerates the development and exploitation of intelligence-based systems, while at the same time recognizing its responsibilities in nurturing a sustainable future.
This is true of the principal sectors of the refractories industry – extraction, processing, manufacture, deployment, maintenance, and recycling – and we aim to stage a wide-ranging conversation, guided by those with a deep knowledge of each facet of the subject.
Close attention to all aspects of promoting sustainability is not only key to moving the refractories industry forward but will bring widespread benefits. New tools and techniques are emerging that will help us achieve our sustainability goals in the decades ahead. Already, it is clear that digitalization, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning – along with associated technologies – can be effectively exploited to enhance and accelerate our efforts across refractories mining, manufacture and use.
There are a whole host of areas where we might expect adoption of these technologies to occur. Predictive algorithms, for instance, may find a place in materials selection, maintenance protocols, wear analysis, or operational optimization. Equally, they can have a direct impact on areas such as thermal efficiencies, pollution abatement, defect detection, safety, and waste reduction, where improvements will have a decisive impact on the sustainability chart.
There’s a strong argument to be made that the refractories industry needs to rapidly assess and adopt advanced intelligence-based tools, to the benefit of both the bottom line and shaping a greener future. UNITECR 2025 aims to provide an unmissable forum for a deep dive into all the possibilities.
We invite everyone with an interest in these topics, from whatever standpoint, to join us in Cancun and to help us push boundaries in a positive and enlightening atmosphere.
