High-strength steel: building the "steel skeleton" of new energy infrastructure
Release time:
2025-06-24
The vigorous development of the new energy industry has put forward unprecedented strength, durability and efficiency requirements for infrastructure construction. In this wave, high-strength steel, with its excellent mechanical properties and design flexibility, is coming to the fore from behind the scenes, becoming the "invisible backbone" supporting the safe and efficient operation of core fields such as wind power, photovoltaics, and hydrogen energy. Its core application scenarios have a profound impact on the future form of new energy infrastructure.
In-depth analysis of core application scenarios:
Tower of Sky-High Wind Power:
Challenges: Wind turbines are becoming increasingly large (with longer blades and heavier nacelles), and tower heights are rising (over 100 meters is the norm), bearing huge wind loads, deadweight and complex alternating stresses.
High-strength steel solution: Towers are manufactured using high-strength structural steel of Q355 and above (such as Q420, Q460). Its core advantages are:
Significant weight reduction: Under the same load-bearing capacity, the wall thickness of the tower can be thinner than that of traditional steel, greatly reducing the amount of raw materials, transportation and hoisting costs.
Improve the ultimate height and load: Higher yield and tensile strength are the physical basis for building taller and supporting larger wind turbines.
Optimized design: Provide engineers with more flexible and economical tower structure design space under the premise of meeting strict safety regulations (such as GL, DNV).
Special selection considerations: Strict attention should be paid to the low-temperature toughness of the material (especially in the northern and offshore environments), welding performance and fatigue resistance.
Solidify the foundation of photovoltaics:
Challenges: Photovoltaic brackets need to be exposed to harsh outdoor environments (sun, rain, wind, snow, corrosion) for a long time, bear the weight of components, wind pressure, snow pressure and possible geological disturbances, and require high durability, high stability and low maintenance costs.
High-strength steel solution: High-strength steel with a yield strength of 550MPa and above (such as S550GD+Z) is an ideal choice for brackets of large ground power stations and complex terrain projects:
Lightweight and thin structure: Reduce the amount of steel used, reduce foundation requirements and overall construction costs, especially in large-span designs.
Excellent durability: Usually combined with advanced coatings (such as high zinc hot-dip galvanizing - Galfan® or ZAM®), it provides strong anti-corrosion protection for up to 25 years or even longer.
Enhanced wind resistance: Higher material strength directly improves the overall stability and safety of the bracket system in extreme weather.
Special selection considerations: The type and thickness of the anti-corrosion coating (commonly >150g/㎡ on both sides) and processability (cold bending performance) are the key to selection.
Attacking the difficulties of hydrogen energy storage and transportation:
Challenges: Hydrogen, especially high-pressure gaseous hydrogen (35MPa, 70MPa), places extremely high demands on storage and transportation container materials: extremely strong resistance to hydrogen embrittlement sensitivity, ultra-high strength to reduce weight and increase efficiency, and excellent fatigue performance.
High-strength steel solution: Special high-strength alloy steel (such as 34CrMo4 and its optimized and improved version, or more advanced ultra-high-strength maraging steel) is the core material of the inner liner (metal) or full bottle (Type III) of Type III and Type IV high-pressure hydrogen storage bottles:
Safe pressure-bearing core: Provides ultra-high strength required to withstand extreme high pressure (70MPa working pressure corresponds to a yield strength requirement of about 105MPa).
Lightweight key: It is the cornerstone of achieving the energy density target of the on-board hydrogen storage system and directly affects the cruising range of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Hydrogen embrittlement barrier: Material composition, purity and heat treatment process must undergo extremely rigorous screening and verification to ensure long-term service safety. It must strictly follow the national standard GB/T 35544 or the international standard ISO 19881, etc.
Special selection considerations: Purity (low S, P, O content), specific microstructure control (such as tempered troostite), and hydrogen embrittlement resistance (slow strain rate test SSRT verification) are the life and death lines.
Charging piles that empower the charging network:
Challenges: The shell and internal support structure of outdoor DC fast charging piles must have high strength to resist accidental collisions and severe weather impacts, while meeting lightweight design requirements and long-term protection requirements (IP54 protection level).
High-strength steel solutions: High-strength steel (such as S350GD+Z, S550MC) is used for:
Strong protective shell: On the premise of ensuring the protection level (IP54), a thinner and lighter shell can be designed to reduce costs and transportation and installation difficulties.
Strong internal skeleton: Provide a stable and reliable support platform for the heavy internal charging modules, transformers and other core components to resist vibration and stress.
Durability guarantee: Combined with appropriate surface treatment (powder spraying, galvanizing), ensure long-term service life in complex outdoor environments.
Special selection considerations: Good formability (for complex shells), welding performance and cost-effectiveness are important factors.
Conclusion:
High-strength steel has been deeply integrated into the "skeleton" and "veins" of new energy infrastructure, and is the core material force that drives the industry to develop with higher efficiency, larger scale and stronger reliability. From the whistling wind turbine tower to the long photovoltaic array, from the Mercedes-Benz hydrogen storage tank to the dense charging network, its application value is increasingly prominent in multiple dimensions such as safety, economy and environmental protection. With the continuous advancement of material technology (such as higher toughness levels, better corrosion-resistant coatings, and smarter composite material applications), high-strength steel will surely play an increasingly indispensable role in building a greener and more resilient energy future. In-depth understanding of its core application scenarios and accurate selection of special steels are key to grasping the wave of new energy infrastructure.
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