China is stepping up the intelligent transformation of its high-risk coal mines, as the country's top economic planner and energy regulator rolled out a new development plan during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period that calls for greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) and robots in hazardous underground operations.

The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration (NEA) on Monday announced a plan that emphasizes the need to strengthen coal's role as a foundational and balancing pillar in China's energy supply system while accelerating high-quality development in the sector, according to the NEA's website.

According to the plan, China will deepen its "AI Plus" initiative in the coal industry by collecting and integrating AI-related data and expanding the use of AI across key scenarios such as exploration and design, construction and production, operation and maintenance, and safety management.

The plan also calls for faster development of specialized large-language AI models for the coal sector, with breakthroughs needed in intelligent perception, autonomous decision-making and intelligent control. It also emphasizes the need to establish a number of pilot coal mines for the integrated application of AI, and improvements in coal mine safety.

The plan specifically targets intelligent upgrades at disaster-prone mines and those that have experienced major accidents, pushing for robotic substitution at hazardous posts, according to the document.

Industry observers said that the move signals a shift in China's coal mine automation efforts from pilot projects to large-scale deployment. High-risk tasks such as tunneling, inspection, rescue, roof support and blasting are emerging as priority areas for substitution by robots.

Hangzhou-based DEEP Robotics has been focusing on the use of quadruped robots for mine inspections and emergency rescue. In May, the company worked with the Zhejiang Provincial Emergency Management Department and other agencies to unveil its embodied intelligent equipment and conducted a live reconnaissance and rescue drill in a mine tunnel in Changshan, East China's Zhejiang Province, the company told the Global Times on Monday.

Using DEEP Robotics' Lynx M20 wheeled-legged robot as its mobile platform, it innovatively integrates large-language models and an onboard platform, and is equipped with a dual-spectrum pod, 5G module, edge computing unit, and other equipment.

Meanwhile, Lingbao CASBOT has formed a joint venture, to focus on the research and application of embodied intelligence robots for underground mining, according to the Beijing Daily. The company has since become involved in key processes such as rock drilling, blasting charge loading and support installation.

Such AI-powered equipment could significantly improve mine disaster warning and emergency response capabilities, helping mines transition to "less-manned" and "unmanned" operations and reducing human workers' exposure to danger, Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Monday.

Lin said that robots have a clear advantage in dangerous tasks such as patrol inspections in 50 C deep shafts, gas leak detection, and heavy lifting. "For robots, these are exactly the jobs they should be taking on," he said.

Market research firm Zhiyan Consulting estimated that the market for mining robots grew to 2.85 billion yuan ($42.24 million) in 2025.