From Scrap to Resource: How AI Is Teaching Robots to Dismantle Retired Transformers

How Much Is a Retired Transformer Worth?

A retired distribution transformer looks like a pile of scrap metal. Rusty casing, oil stains, sitting forgotten in a corner.

But its real value is far greater than it appears.

Inside a large power transformer lies several tonnes of electrolytic copper, high-permeability grain-oriented silicon steel, specialty steels, and insulating oil. If these materials are treated as ordinary scrap, their value drops significantly. If they are precisely dismantled and sorted – copper to copper, steel to steel, oil to oil – they become a miniature “urban mine.”

The problem is, dismantling a transformer is not simple.

The Challenges of Manual Dismantling: Slow, Dangerous, and Inaccurate

Traditional manual dismantling is both slow and hazardous.

A transformer weighs several tonnes. The casing requires cutting. Residual insulating oil remains inside. The process involves lifting, cutting, and oil handling – multiple steps in tight spaces. Workers face risks of crushing, cuts, and exposure to hazardous substances.

Worse, manual dismantling struggles with precise sorting. Copper wires mix with steel sheets; insulating materials mix with metals. The coarser the dismantling, the lower the recovery value. The tonnes of copper and silicon steel inside a transformer, if poorly sorted, end up sold at the lowest grade of mixed scrap.

AI Teaches Robots to Dismantle Transformers: See, Decide, Act

In June 2026, the first intelligent transformer dismantling production line was commissioned at State Grid Hebei‘s Green Smart Supply Centre.

This line turns transformer dismantling into three steps: see, decide, act.

See – powered by multivision fusion perception. The line is equipped with multiple vision sensors, scanning the transformer from different angles. Where are the bolts? Where are the welds? Where does the copper winding begin? Where does the silicon steel separate? The system sees it all clearly.

Decide – powered by AI models. The vision data feeds into an AI brain. Based on the transformer’s model, structure, and condition, the AI autonomously plans the dismantling sequence and cutting points – what to remove first, what to remove next, which tools to use, and how much force to apply.

Act – powered by flexible robotic arms. The AI commands the robotic arms to execute the dismantling with precision – separating copper windings, silicon steel sheets, and other highvalue materials one by one.

Throughout the process, workers do not directly operate the dismantling tools. They have moved from “dismantlers” to “supervisors” – standing in safe zones, watching the robots work.

The Numbers Behind the Transformation

The impact of this production line can be quantified.

60%+ efficiency gain. The same workload is completed 60% faster than manual dismantling.

5,800 units per year. One line can process 5,800 retired transformers annually. As of June 2026, the centre had dismantled over 600 transformers.

50,000+ tonnes annual CO₂ reduction. Precise sorting returns copper, steel, and oil to the industrial cycle, reducing the energy and emissions needed to produce virgin materials.

At the JingJinJi Regional Power Recycling Centre in Langfang, Hebei, Phase I has dismantled thousands of transformers since its launch in October 2024. After Phase II, capacity will reach 7,000 units per year. The recovered copper and silicon steel are supplied directly to metal recycling and remanufacturing enterprises.

The Logic of “Turning Waste into Treasure”

The significance of intelligent transformer dismantling goes beyond “faster dismantling.”

A retired transformer contains copper, silicon steel, and insulating oil. If these materials are landfilled or incinerated, it is not only resource waste but also environmental pollution. If they are precisely dismantled and sorted, copper can be refined, silicon steel can be reprocessed into new transformer cores, and insulating oil can be purified and reused.

This is the true meaning of “turning waste into treasure” – not reducing waste to lowvalue mixed scrap, but restoring waste to highvalue raw materials that reenter the industrial cycle.

The arrival of AIpowered dismantling lines has moved this from “doable” to “efficient.” A 60% efficiency gain means more retired transformers can be processed in the same time. Precise material sorting means higher purity and greater value from recycled materials.

A retired transformer, in the age of manual dismantling, might have been worth only a few thousand yuan as scrap steel. In the age of AI dismantling, it becomes a miniature urban mine – copper to copper, steel to steel, oil to oil – every material returned to where it belongs.