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: the furnace burns through considerably more pig iron than it gives back as metal.
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: when it's full, the furnace also drops to 5%. 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
The age of metal began when experiments showed that the properties of pig iron could be changed by modulating the structure of carbon. The blast furnace is regarded as the most efficient means to produce metal without having to halt production. Upgrading improves the technology and the heat generation to ensure increased daily production. Metal is harder, more resistant and more malleable than pig iron and is used primarily for ship construction and for more delicate structures.
Levels at a glance
| Level | Pig iron | Kryptonite | Build time | Metal / hour | Pig iron used / hour | Energy needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 75 | 25 | 8 s | 12 | 24 | -2 |
| 2 | 114 | 38 | 12 s | 27 | 54 | -5 |
| 3 | 172 | 58 | 19 s | 47 | 94 | -9 |
| 4 | 259 | 87 | 28 s | 73 | 146 | -13 |
| 5 | 390 | 130 | 43 s | 105 | 210 | -20 |
| 6 | 589 | 197 | 1 min 5 s | 145 | 290 | -27 |
| 7 | 890 | 297 | 1 min 37 s | 195 | 390 | -37 |
| 8 | 1,343 | 448 | 2 min 27 s | 256 | 512 | -48 |
| 9 | 2,028 | 676 | 3 min 42 s | 332 | 664 | -63 |
| 10 | 3,061 | 1,021 | 5 min 35 s | 424 | 848 | -80 |
| 11 | 4,623 | 1,541 | 8 min 26 s | 537 | 1,074 | -102 |
| 12 | 6,980 | 2,327 | 12 min 44 s | 674 | 1,348 | -128 |
| 13 | 10,539 | 3,513 | 19 min 13 s | 839 | 1,678 | -159 |
| 14 | 15,914 | 5,305 | 29 min 1 s | 1,040 | 2,080 | -198 |
| 15 | 24,030 | 8,010 | 43 min 50 s | 1,281 | 2,562 | -244 |
| 16 | 36,285 | 12,095 | 1 h 6 min | 1,572 | 3,144 | -299 |
| 17 | 54,789 | 18,263 | 1 h 39 min | 1,920 | 3,840 | -365 |
| 18 | 82,732 | 27,578 | 2 h 30 min | 2,338 | 4,676 | -445 |
| 19 | 124,925 | 41,642 | 3 h 47 min | 2,839 | 5,678 | -540 |
| 20 | 188,636 | 62,879 | 5 h 44 min | 3,436 | 6,872 | -654 |
| 21 | 284,840 | 94,947 | 8 h 39 min | 4,150 | 8,300 | -790 |
| 22 | 430,108 | 143,370 | 13 h 4 min | 4,999 | 9,998 | -952 |
| 23 | 649,463 | 216,488 | 19 h 44 min | 6,011 | 12,022 | -1,145 |
| 24 | 980,689 | 326,897 | 1 d 5 h 48 min | 7,213 | 14,426 | -1,374 |
| 25 | 1,480,840 | 493,614 | 1 d 21 h | 8,641 | 17,282 | -1,645 |
| 26 | 2,236,068 | 745,356 | 2 d 19 h 58 min | 10,334 | 20,668 | -1,968 |
| 27 | 3,376,463 | 1,125,488 | 4 d 6 h 37 min | 12,342 | 24,684 | -2,350 |
| 28 | 5,098,458 | 1,699,486 | 6 d 10 h 58 min | 14,719 | 29,438 | -2,803 |
| 29 | 7,698,672 | 2,566,224 | 9 d 18 h | 17,531 | 35,062 | -3,339 |
| 30 | 11,624,994 | 3,874,998 | 14 d 17 h | 20,856 | 41,712 | -3,972 |
| 31 | 17,553,741 | 5,851,247 | 22 d 5 h | 24,784 | 49,568 | -4,720 |
| 32 | 26,506,149 | 8,835,383 | 33 d 13 h | 29,421 | 58,842 | -5,604 |
| 33 | 40,024,285 | 13,341,429 | 50 d 16 h | 34,892 | 69,784 | -6,646 |
| 34 | 60,436,670 | 20,145,557 | 76 d 13 h | 41,342 | 82,684 | -7,874 |
| 35 | 91,259,372 | 30,419,791 | 115 d 13 h | 48,942 | 97,884 | -9,322 |
| 36 | 137,801,651 | 45,933,884 | 174 d 12 h | 57,891 | 115,782 | -11,026 |
| 37 | 208,080,492 | 69,360,164 | 263 d 12 h | 68,424 | 136,848 | -13,033 |
| 38 | 314,201,543 | 104,733,848 | 397 d 22 h | 80,814 | 161,628 | -15,393 |
| 39 | 474,444,330 | 158,148,110 | 600 d 21 h | 95,382 | 190,764 | -18,168 |
| 40 | 716,410,938 | 238,803,646 | 907 d 8 h | 112,502 | 225,004 | -21,429 |
| 41 | 1.08 B | 360,593,506 | 1,370 d 2 h | 132,612 | 265,224 | -25,259 |
| 42 | 1.63 B | 544,496,194 | 2,068 d 20 h | 156,224 | 312,448 | -29,756 |
| 43 | 2.47 B | 822,189,252 | 3,123 d 23 h | 183,935 | 367,870 | -35,035 |
| 44 | 3.72 B | 1.24 B | 4,717 d 4 h | 216,444 | 432,888 | -41,227 |
| 45 | 5.62 B | 1.87 B | 7,122 d 22 h | 254,568 | 509,136 | -48,489 |
| 46 | 8.49 B | 2.83 B | 10,755 d 15 h | 299,259 | 598,518 | -57,001 |
| 47 | 12.82 B | 4.27 B | 16,241 d 1 h | 351,629 | 703,258 | -66,977 |
| 48 | 19.36 B | 6.45 B | 24,523 d 23 h | 412,977 | 825,954 | -78,662 |
| 49 | 29.24 B | 9.75 B | 37,031 d 5 h | 484,818 | 969,636 | -92,346 |
| 50 | 44.15 B | 14.72 B | 55,917 d 3 h | 568,920 | 1,137,840 | -108,365 |
| 51 | 66.67 B | 22.22 B | 84,434 d 20 h | 667,343 | 1,334,686 | -127,113 |
| 52 | 100.67 B | 33.56 B | 127,496 d 15 h | 782,492 | 1,564,984 | -149,046 |
| 53 | 152.01 B | 50.67 B | 192,519 d 22 h | 917,171 | 1,834,342 | -174,699 |
| 54 | 229.53 B | 76.51 B | 290,705 d 2 h | 1,074,648 | 2,149,296 | -204,694 |
| 55 | 346.59 B | 115.53 B | 438,964 d 16 h | 1,258,731 | 2,517,462 | -239,758 |
| 56 | 523.35 B | 174.45 B | 662,836 d 16 h | 1,473,860 | 2,947,720 | -280,735 |
| 57 | 790.26 B | 263.42 B | 1,000,883 d 9 h | 1,725,206 | 3,450,412 | -328,610 |
| 58 | 1.19 T | 397.76 B | 1,511,333 d 21 h | 2,018,794 | 4,037,588 | -384,532 |
| 59 | 1.80 T | 600.62 B | 2,282,114 d 4 h | 2,361,641 | 4,723,282 | -449,836 |
| 60 | 2.72 T | 906.94 B | 3,445,992 d 10 h | 2,761,919 | 5,523,838 | -526,079 |
| 61 | 4.11 T | 1.37 T | 5,203,448 d 13 h | 3,229,143 | 6,458,286 | -615,075 |
| 62 | 6.20 T | 2.07 T | 7,857,207 d 7 h | 3,774,392 | 7,548,784 | -718,931 |
| 63 | 9.37 T | 3.12 T | 11,864,383 d 1 h | 4,410,560 | 8,821,120 | -840,106 |
| 64 | 14.15 T | 4.72 T | 17,915,218 d 10 h | 5,152,654 | 10,305,308 | -981,458 |
| 65 | 21.36 T | 7.12 T | 27,051,979 d 19 h | 6,018,139 | 12,036,278 | -1,146,312 |
| 66 | 32.25 T | 10.75 T | 40,848,489 d 13 h | 7,027,335 | 14,054,670 | -1,338,540 |
| 67 | 48.70 T | 16.23 T | 61,681,219 d 5 h | 8,203,882 | 16,407,764 | -1,562,644 |
| 68 | 73.54 T | 24.51 T | 93,138,641 d | 9,575,277 | 19,150,554 | -1,823,862 |
| 69 | 111.04 T | 37.01 T | 140,639,347 d 22 h | 11,173,503 | 22,347,006 | -2,128,286 |
| 70 | 167.68 T | 55.89 T | 212,365,415 d 9 h | 13,035,754 | 26,071,508 | -2,483,000 |
| 71 | 253.19 T | 84.40 T | 320,671,777 d 5 h | 15,205,276 | 30,410,552 | -2,896,243 |
| 72 | 382.32 T | 127.44 T | 484,214,383 d 14 h | 17,732,350 | 35,464,700 | -3,377,590 |
| 73 | 577.30 T | 192.43 T | 731,163,719 d 6 h | 20,675,427 | 41,350,854 | -3,938,176 |
| 74 | 871.72 T | 290.57 T | 1,104,057,216 d 2 h | 24,102,450 | 48,204,900 | -4,590,943 |
| 75 | 1.32 Qa | 438.77 T | 1,667,126,396 d 7 h | 28,092,383 | 56,184,766 | -5,350,930 |
| 76 | 1.99 Qa | 662.54 T | 2,517,360,858 d 10 h | 32,736,990 | 65,473,980 | -6,235,617 |
| 77 | 3.00 Qa | 1.00 Qa | 3,801,214,896 d 5 h | 38,142,901 | 76,285,802 | -7,265,314 |
| 78 | 4.53 Qa | 1.51 Qa | 5,739,834,493 d 7 h | 44,434,003 | 88,868,006 | -8,463,619 |
| 79 | 6.84 Qa | 2.28 Qa | 8,667,150,084 d 21 h | 51,754,221 | 103,508,442 | -9,857,946 |
| 80 | 10.33 Qa | 3.44 Qa | 13,087,396,628 d 4 h | 60,270,738 | 120,541,476 | -11,480,140 |
| 81 | 15.60 Qa | 5.20 Qa | 19,761,968,908 d 13 h | 70,177,741 | 140,355,482 | -13,367,188 |
| 82 | 23.56 Qa | 7.85 Qa | 29,840,573,051 d 22 h | 81,700,753 | 163,401,506 | -15,562,048 |
| 83 | 35.58 Qa | 11.86 Qa | 45,059,265,308 d 9 h | 95,101,669 | 190,203,338 | -18,114,603 |
| 84 | 53.72 Qa | 17.91 Qa | 68,039,490,615 d 16 h | 110,684,593 | 221,369,186 | -21,082,779 |
| 85 | 81.12 Qa | 27.04 Qa | 102,739,630,829 d 16 h | 128,802,607 | 257,605,214 | -24,533,829 |
| 86 | 122.49 Qa | 40.83 Qa | 155,136,842,552 d 20 h | 149,865,622 | 299,731,244 | -28,545,832 |
| 87 | 184.96 Qa | 61.65 Qa | 234,256,632,254 d 19 h | 174,349,482 | 348,698,964 | -33,209,425 |
| 88 | 279.29 Qa | 93.10 Qa | 353,727,514,704 d 18 h | 202,806,524 | 405,613,048 | -38,629,814 |
| 89 | 421.73 Qa | 140.58 Qa | 534,128,547,204 d 4 h | 235,877,815 | 471,755,630 | -44,929,107 |
| 90 | 636.81 Qa | 212.27 Qa | 806,534,106,278 d 8 h | 274,307,347 | 548,614,694 | -52,249,018 |
| 91 | 961.58 Qa | 320.53 Qa | 1,217,866,500,480 d 6 h | 318,958,487 | 637,916,974 | -60,753,997 |
| 92 | 1.45 Qi | 484.00 Qa | 1,838,978,415,725 d 5 h | 370,833,054 | 741,666,108 | -70,634,867 |
| 93 | 2.19 Qi | 730.83 Qa | 2,776,857,407,745 d 2 h | 431,093,426 | 862,186,852 | -82,113,033 |
| 94 | 3.31 Qi | 1.10 Qi | 4,193,054,685,695 d 2 h | 501,088,165 | 1,002,176,330 | -95,445,364 |
| 95 | 5.00 Qi | 1.67 Qi | 6,331,512,575,399 d 14 h | 582,381,724 | 1,164,763,448 | -110,929,852 |
| 96 | 7.55 Qi | 2.52 Qi | 9,560,583,988,853 d 9 h | 676,788,866 | 1,353,577,732 | -128,912,165 |
| 97 | 11.40 Qi | 3.80 Qi | 14,436,481,823,168 d 15 h | 786,414,563 | 1,572,829,126 | -149,793,250 |
| 98 | 17.21 Qi | 5.74 Qi | 21,799,087,552,984 d 14 h | 913,700,219 | 1,827,400,438 | -174,038,137 |
| 99 | 25.99 Qi | 8.66 Qi | 32,916,622,205,006 d 18 h | 1,061,477,245 | 2,122,954,490 | -202,186,141 |
| 100 | 39.24 Qi | 13.08 Qi | 49,704,099,529,560 d 5 h | 1,233,029,123 | 2,466,058,246 | -234,862,690 |
Values without premium, Synth or specialization bonuses. Costs are for upgrading to the given level. Set your development center, microsystem accelerator and universe above and the build times adjust.