Recently, the list of the top ten scientific and technological innovation achievements in Shandong Province for 2025 was released, and the "full-specification nickel-based steel products" project submitted by Rizhao Company was selected.
Faced with the urgent need for key materials in the clean energy industry, Rizhao Company has overcome a number of "bottleneck" technical challenges. The project has successfully made breakthroughs in core technologies such as ultra-low harmful element control and ultra-pure steel smelting, performance uniformity control of extra-thick steel plates, and green and efficient high width-to-thickness ratio coil rolling production process, and has built a leading full-specification, full-process system in China.
This system has successfully enabled the mass production and stable manufacturing of nickel-based steel products of all specifications within a thickness range of 5 mm to 50 mm. The products maintain excellent mechanical properties and safety and reliability even in ultra-low temperature environments ranging from -101 degrees Celsius to -196 degrees Celsius, and the main technical indicators have reached the international leading level.
The nickel-based steel products that won this award are essential core lining materials for constructing large liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks. Its successful development and industrialization directly broke the long-term technological monopoly and market barriers of foreign countries, and realized the domestic substitution of key strategic materials.
To date, this series of products has been supplied with nearly 30,000 tons and has been successfully applied to many major domestic and international clean energy infrastructure projects, including the world's largest single-tank LNG storage tank with a capacity of 270,000 cubic meters. In particular, in a landmark project of the "Belt and Road" initiative, Rizhao Company responded to customer needs with "extreme speed + precision intelligent manufacturing", and delivered high-quality products to ensure the project's progress, winning high praise from the market. In practical applications, this material helps achieve a weight reduction of up to 37% on the inner wall of large storage tanks, significantly improving the economy and safety of the tanks.