China's steel giant develops low temperature resistant, durable steel plate

BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A type of low temperature resistant and durable steel plate, developed by China's leading heavyweight steelmaker Shougang Group, has been successfully used in an advanced compressed air energy storage (CAES) power station.

The 300MW CAES power station, located in Feicheng, east China's Shandong Province, has been connected to the grid, according to Shougang on Wednesday.

CAES power stations convert surplus power into compressed air and store it in a sealed gas storage system such as salt caverns and artificial chambers. When the power demand climbs, the compressed air is released to generate electricity.

Compared with pumped storage and battery energy storage, CAES is a new approach that boasts up to 70 percent energy conversion efficiency.

To compress the air with periodical charge and discharge up to more than 10 megapascals, the steel material has to withstand temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius and be highly durable under alternating loads during frequent charging and discharging cycles.

The Shougang Group-developed steel plate has been designed to bear impact under minus 50 degrees Celsius and be 30 percent more durable than conventional high strength steel plate.

The steel plate provides the basic material support for the industrial application of the new energy storage technology.

Meanwhile, the CAES power station withstood practical application tests, meeting the high efficiency, safety and material life cycle requirements.