On July 8, 2025, China's National Science and Technology Awards were announced in Beijing. Among 258 projects recognized, one stood out for the titanium industry: the Fendouzhe (Striver) full-ocean-depth crewed submersible received the Special Prize for Science and Technology Progress - the highest category in its award class.
What Fendouzhe Achieved
In November 2020, Fendouzhe reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench at 10,909 meters - the deepest point on Earth. It set multiple world records for its class:
- Largest crew capacity - three-person pressure hull
- Fastest descent and ascent rate
- Longest bottom operation time
- Most capable deep-sea work platform
To date, Fendouzhe has completed 522 dives, including 25 beyond 10,000 meters. In 2025, it completed 43 dive missions in the Arctic - making China the only nation to conduct continuous crewed deep-sea diving in the Arctic's dense ice zone.
The Titanium Heart: The Crewed Pressure Hull
The single most critical component of Fendouzhe is its titanium alloy crewed pressure hull - the structure that protects human life at pressures exceeding 110 MPa (over 1,000 atmospheres).
The development team - led by the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, joined by Baoti Group Co., Ltd. and Luoyang Ship Material Research Institute (CSIC) - spent three years solving a series of fundamental challenges:
- New titanium alloy formulation - a proprietary alloy (Ti-62A) designed specifically for extreme deep-sea pressure environments
- Precision forming - fabricating a large spherical hull capable of withstanding uniform external pressure at 10,000+ meters
- Advanced welding - joining thick titanium sections while maintaining structural integrity and pressure-tightness across every weld
The result: a three-person titanium pressure hull that has performed flawlessly across hundreds of dives to the deepest ocean on the planet.
Other Breakthroughs Enabled by Fendouzhe
Beyond the titanium hull, the program achieved several additional world-class breakthroughs:
- Solid buoyancy materials - engineered for full-ocean-depth pressure
- Full-ocean-depth high-speed digital underwater acoustic communication - the only such system in the world
- Precision navigation and intelligent control for extreme deep-sea operations
- Crewed-unmanned collaborative operation at extreme depth
Why This Matters for the Titanium Industry
Fendouzhe's success is a landmark validation of titanium alloy's capabilities at the most extreme end of engineering:
| Challenge | Titanium's Answer |
|---|---|
| 1,000+ atmospheres of pressure | Ti-62A alloy - tensile strength exceeding 1,100 MPa with high fracture toughness |
| Structural integrity over hundreds of cycles | Titanium's fatigue resistance - no degradation after repeated pressure cycling |
| Corrosion in seawater | Titanium's inherent corrosion resistance - no protection needed |
| Welded joint reliability | Advanced welding processes producing joints that match base metal performanc |
The project demonstrates that when pushed to the absolute limits of material performance, titanium delivers.
About Baoji Yibaite New Materials Technology Co., Ltd.
We are a high-tech titanium processing company based in Baoji, Shaanxi Province. We specialize in the processing, manufacturing, and marketing of titanium and titanium alloy products.
What we supply:
- Titanium bars and rods - for forging, machining, and component fabrication
- Titanium plates and sheets - for structural, formed, and industrial applications
- Titanium wires - for welding, precision assemblies, and specialty use
- Titanium tubes and strips - for engineering and industrial applications
- Forgings and high-precision products - for demanding aerospace, marine, medical, and industrial uses
Grades available:
Gr1, Gr2, Gr5 (Ti-6Al-4V / TC4), Ti-62A, TC6, TC11, TC17, TA15, and other standard or custom specifications.
All products ship with full mill test certificates and can be produced to your required dimensions, tolerances, and material conditions.
Industries we serve:
Aerospace, petrochemical engineering, marine engineering, medical devices, shipbuilding, power generation, automotive, consumer electronics, and other fields.
Baoji Yibaite New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. China's Titanium Valley - Your Trusted Titanium Partner.