Blast furnace
Turns pig iron into metal, the most important building material in the game. Without enough pig iron supply the furnace stalls.

The Blast furnace is your only production source of metal – apart from trading, loot and recycling. Metal goes into almost everything: ships, research and most buildings. The table shows metal output per level next to the pig iron consumption: for every unit of metal, the furnace uses two pig iron.
If your Pig iron mine produces less than the furnace consumes, the furnace first eats into your pig iron stock. Once that's empty, it only makes as much metal as fresh pig iron comes in. So always upgrade pig iron mine and blast furnace as a pair – and mind the energy, because the furnace needs power too.
Keep an eye on your Metal warehouse: once it's full, the furnace stops and no longer uses any pig iron either. Since the Development center, the Microsystem accelerator and large fleets devour huge amounts of metal, the warehouse should be able to hold your next big projects.
Background
In the blast furnace by the enrichment of carbon and by doping with kryptonite the pig iron is refined into high quality metal alloys. A higher stage of development is characterized by enhanced fusion, ensuring an increased daily production. The metal obtained here is harder, more durable and more malleable as pig iron. Thus, it is ideal for the construction of military units and complex structures.
Levels at a glance
| Level | Pig iron | Kryptonite | Build time | Metal / hour | Pig iron used / hour | Energy needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 75 | 25 | 9 s | 12 | 24 | -2 |
| 2 | 114 | 38 | 14 s | 27 | 54 | -5 |
| 3 | 172 | 58 | 21 s | 47 | 94 | -9 |
| 4 | 259 | 87 | 31 s | 73 | 146 | -13 |
| 5 | 390 | 130 | 47 s | 105 | 210 | -20 |
| 6 | 589 | 197 | 1 min 11 s | 145 | 290 | -27 |
| 7 | 890 | 297 | 1 min 47 s | 195 | 390 | -37 |
| 8 | 1,343 | 448 | 2 min 42 s | 256 | 512 | -48 |
| 9 | 2,028 | 676 | 4 min 4 s | 332 | 664 | -63 |
| 10 | 3,061 | 1,021 | 6 min 9 s | 424 | 848 | -80 |
| 11 | 4,623 | 1,541 | 9 min 17 s | 537 | 1,074 | -102 |
| 12 | 6,980 | 2,327 | 14 min | 674 | 1,348 | -128 |
| 13 | 10,539 | 3,513 | 21 min 9 s | 839 | 1,678 | -159 |
| 14 | 15,914 | 5,305 | 31 min 56 s | 1,040 | 2,080 | -198 |
| 15 | 24,030 | 8,010 | 48 min 13 s | 1,281 | 2,562 | -244 |
| 16 | 36,285 | 12,095 | 1 h 12 min | 1,572 | 3,144 | -299 |
| 17 | 54,789 | 18,263 | 1 h 49 min | 1,920 | 3,840 | -365 |
| 18 | 82,732 | 27,578 | 2 h 45 min | 2,338 | 4,676 | -445 |
| 19 | 124,925 | 41,642 | 4 h 10 min | 2,839 | 5,678 | -540 |
| 20 | 188,636 | 62,879 | 6 h 18 min | 3,436 | 6,872 | -654 |
| 21 | 284,840 | 94,947 | 9 h 31 min | 4,150 | 8,300 | -790 |
| 22 | 430,108 | 143,370 | 14 h 22 min | 4,999 | 9,998 | -952 |
| 23 | 649,463 | 216,488 | 21 h 42 min | 6,011 | 12,022 | -1,145 |
| 24 | 980,689 | 326,897 | 1 d 8 h 47 min | 7,213 | 14,426 | -1,374 |
| 25 | 1,480,840 | 493,614 | 2 d 1 h 30 min | 8,641 | 17,282 | -1,645 |
| 26 | 2,236,068 | 745,356 | 3 d 2 h 45 min | 10,334 | 20,668 | -1,968 |
| 27 | 3,376,463 | 1,125,488 | 4 d 16 h 53 min | 12,342 | 24,684 | -2,350 |
| 28 | 5,098,458 | 1,699,486 | 7 d 2 h 28 min | 14,719 | 29,438 | -2,803 |
| 29 | 7,698,672 | 2,566,224 | 10 d 17 h | 17,531 | 35,062 | -3,339 |
| 30 | 11,624,994 | 3,874,998 | 16 d 4 h | 20,856 | 41,712 | -3,972 |
| 31 | 17,553,741 | 5,851,247 | 24 d 10 h | 24,784 | 49,568 | -4,720 |
| 32 | 26,506,149 | 8,835,383 | 36 d 22 h | 29,421 | 58,842 | -5,604 |
| 33 | 40,024,285 | 13,341,429 | 55 d 18 h | 34,892 | 69,784 | -6,646 |
| 34 | 60,436,670 | 20,145,557 | 84 d 4 h | 41,342 | 82,684 | -7,874 |
| 35 | 91,259,372 | 30,419,791 | 127 d 3 h | 48,942 | 97,884 | -9,322 |
| 36 | 137,801,651 | 45,933,884 | 191 d 23 h | 57,891 | 115,782 | -11,026 |
| 37 | 208,080,492 | 69,360,164 | 289 d 21 h | 68,424 | 136,848 | -13,033 |
| 38 | 314,201,543 | 104,733,848 | 437 d 17 h | 80,814 | 161,628 | -15,393 |
| 39 | 474,444,330 | 158,148,110 | 660 d 23 h | 95,382 | 190,764 | -18,168 |
| 40 | 716,410,938 | 238,803,646 | 998 d 2 h | 112,502 | 225,004 | -21,429 |
| 41 | 1.08 B | 360,593,506 | 1,507 d 2 h | 132,612 | 265,224 | -25,259 |
| 42 | 1.63 B | 544,496,194 | 2,275 d 17 h | 156,224 | 312,448 | -29,756 |
| 43 | 2.47 B | 822,189,252 | 3,436 d 8 h | 183,935 | 367,870 | -35,035 |
| 44 | 3.72 B | 1.24 B | 5,188 d 21 h | 216,444 | 432,888 | -41,227 |
| 45 | 5.62 B | 1.87 B | 7,835 d 5 h | 254,568 | 509,136 | -48,489 |
| 46 | 8.49 B | 2.83 B | 11,831 d 5 h | 299,259 | 598,518 | -57,001 |
| 47 | 12.82 B | 4.27 B | 17,865 d 3 h | 351,629 | 703,258 | -66,977 |
| 48 | 19.36 B | 6.45 B | 26,976 d 9 h | 412,977 | 825,954 | -78,662 |
| 49 | 29.24 B | 9.75 B | 40,734 d 7 h | 484,818 | 969,636 | -92,346 |
| 50 | 44.15 B | 14.72 B | 61,508 d 20 h | 568,920 | 1,137,840 | -108,365 |
| 51 | 66.67 B | 22.22 B | 92,878 d 8 h | 667,343 | 1,334,686 | -127,113 |
| 52 | 100.67 B | 33.56 B | 140,246 d 7 h | 782,492 | 1,564,984 | -149,046 |
| 53 | 152.01 B | 50.67 B | 211,771 d 22 h | 917,171 | 1,834,342 | -174,699 |
| 54 | 229.53 B | 76.51 B | 319,775 d 14 h | 1,074,648 | 2,149,296 | -204,694 |
| 55 | 346.59 B | 115.53 B | 482,861 d 3 h | 1,258,731 | 2,517,462 | -239,758 |
| 56 | 523.35 B | 174.45 B | 729,120 d 8 h | 1,473,860 | 2,947,720 | -280,735 |
| 57 | 790.26 B | 263.42 B | 1,100,971 d 17 h | 1,725,206 | 3,450,412 | -328,610 |
| 58 | 1.19 T | 397.76 B | 1,662,467 d 7 h | 2,018,794 | 4,037,588 | -384,532 |
| 59 | 1.80 T | 600.62 B | 2,510,325 d 15 h | 2,361,641 | 4,723,282 | -449,836 |
| 60 | 2.72 T | 906.94 B | 3,790,591 d 16 h | 2,761,919 | 5,523,838 | -526,079 |
| 61 | 4.11 T | 1.37 T | 5,723,793 d 11 h | 3,229,143 | 6,458,286 | -615,075 |
| 62 | 6.20 T | 2.07 T | 8,642,928 d 3 h | 3,774,392 | 7,548,784 | -718,931 |
| 63 | 9.37 T | 3.12 T | 13,050,821 d 12 h | 4,410,560 | 8,821,120 | -840,106 |
| 64 | 14.15 T | 4.72 T | 19,706,740 d 11 h | 5,152,654 | 10,305,308 | -981,458 |
| 65 | 21.36 T | 7.12 T | 29,757,178 d 2 h | 6,018,139 | 12,036,278 | -1,146,312 |
| 66 | 32.25 T | 10.75 T | 44,933,338 d 22 h | 7,027,335 | 14,054,670 | -1,338,540 |
| 67 | 48.70 T | 16.23 T | 67,849,341 d 19 h | 8,203,882 | 16,407,764 | -1,562,644 |
| 68 | 73.54 T | 24.51 T | 102,452,506 d 3 h | 9,575,277 | 19,150,554 | -1,823,862 |
| 69 | 111.04 T | 37.01 T | 154,703,284 d 6 h | 11,173,503 | 22,347,006 | -2,128,286 |
| 70 | 167.68 T | 55.89 T | 233,601,959 d 6 h | 13,035,754 | 26,071,508 | -2,483,000 |
| 71 | 253.19 T | 84.40 T | 352,738,958 d 11 h | 15,205,276 | 30,410,552 | -2,896,243 |
| 72 | 382.32 T | 127.44 T | 532,635,827 d 7 h | 17,732,350 | 35,464,700 | -3,377,590 |
| 73 | 577.30 T | 192.43 T | 804,280,099 d 5 h | 20,675,427 | 41,350,854 | -3,938,176 |
| 74 | 871.72 T | 290.57 T | 1,214,462,949 d 20 h | 24,102,450 | 48,204,900 | -4,590,943 |
| 75 | 1.32 Qa | 438.77 T | 1,833,839,054 d 6 h | 28,092,383 | 56,184,766 | -5,350,930 |
| 76 | 1.99 Qa | 662.54 T | 2,769,096,971 d 23 h | 32,736,990 | 65,473,980 | -6,235,617 |
| 77 | 3.00 Qa | 1.00 Qa | 4,181,336,427 d 15 h | 38,142,901 | 76,285,802 | -7,265,314 |
| 78 | 4.53 Qa | 1.51 Qa | 6,313,818,005 d 18 h | 44,434,003 | 88,868,006 | -8,463,619 |
| 79 | 6.84 Qa | 2.28 Qa | 9,533,865,188 d 17 h | 51,754,221 | 103,508,442 | -9,857,946 |
| 80 | 10.33 Qa | 3.44 Qa | 14,396,136,434 d 23 h | 60,270,738 | 120,541,476 | -11,480,140 |
Values without speed-up and assistants. Costs are for upgrading to the given level. Set your development center and microsystem accelerator above and the build times adjust.