On the morning of June 24th, the National Science and Technology Conference, the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, and the Academician Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering were grandly held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The project "Functionalization and Green Design, Preparation of Refractory Materials and Their Support for Green Manufacturing of Steel" jointly submitted by China Steel Luoyang Refractory Research Institute Co., Ltd., China Steel Luonai Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Steel Luonai"), Baoshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Beijing University of Science and Technology, Henan Rongjin High Temperature Materials Co., Ltd., Wuhan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Nanjing Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. and other units has won the second prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award.。

It is reported that the 2023 National Science and Technology Award is the first award given after the establishment of the Central Science and Technology Commission. Different from previous years, this National Science and Technology Award was jointly awarded by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. A total of 250 the State Natural Science Award, the State Technological Innovation Award and National Science and Technology Progress Award were selected. In 2023, a total of 139 National Science and Technology Progress Awards were awarded, including 3 special prizes, 16 first prizes, and 120 second prizes.

Sinosteel Luonai deeply implements General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourse on high-level technological self-reliance and self-improvement, and focuses on the development strategy of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" in the main battlefield of the national economy and the high-temperature industrial field. In response to the many refractory material problems that restrict the green manufacturing and high-end product development of the steel industry, it focuses on the functionalization of coke oven structural materials, chromium free lining of high-quality steel refining RH furnaces, low-carbon sliding plate flow control components, and thermal insulation materials for high-temperature metallurgical devices to carry out joint technical research and promotion applications.

With the support of the National "973" Program, National Key R&D Program, National Natural Science Foundation and other projects, Dr. Li Hongxia, the first author, led a research team to conduct long-term research on the functionalization and greening of refractory materials. They proposed a "three in one" system simulation research idea combining thermodynamics, numerical and high-temperature simulation, innovated the functionalization and greening design of refractory materials and low-carbon preparation series technologies, and developed six new materials and preparation technologies. The export and market share of high thermal conductivity silica materials for coke ovens are the highest in China, and the scale of new skateboards is the highest in China. The product has been successfully applied in domestic and foreign enterprises such as Baosteel, Wuhan Iron and Steel, Nippon Steel, Pohang, etc., with significant energy conservation, carbon reduction and emission reduction, meeting the requirements of high-quality special steel production. The project has solved the major refractory material problem that has long plagued the low-carbon and green manufacturing of the steel industry, supported the high-end and green development strategy of steel, led the low-carbon, green and high-quality development of refractory materials in China, and achieved enormous economic and social benefits.

Winning the second prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award this time is a microcosm of China Steel Luonai leading the upgrading of the refractory materials industry, and a demonstration of the comprehensive strength of the enterprise's scientific and technological innovation.