On April 15, the “People's Daily” featured an article titled "Cross-Sector Transformation of Containers" in its column "72 Transformations of Chinese Innovations", showcasing the remarkable versatility of China's container industry. Behind this transformation is the profound reshaping of traditional industries by new quality productive forces. The transformation of container manufacturing—from a material revolution with a single steel plate to a functional leap with a "super module"—epitomizes the ascent of China's manufacturing sector toward high-end, intelligent, and green development. Amid this transformation, COSCO SHIPPING Development's Shanghai Universal Qidong Container Factory has crafted a vivid narrative of container quality renewal and remarkable cross-industry innovation through material iteration, functional scenario expansion, and green intelligent manufacturing upgrades.
Let's explore the story together
Excerpt from People's Daily “Cross-Sector Transformation of Containers”
From standardized carriers on ocean-going freighters to creative modules in urban spaces and core equipment in the new energy sector, Chinese containers are breaking boundaries with their "seventy-two transformations". Behind this transformation lies the iterative breakthroughs in material technology, the diversified extension of functional scenarios, and a vivid practice of China's manufacturing industry transitioning from scale expansion to high-quality development.
Data shows that in 2024, China's total container production exceeded 8.1 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 268.2%, setting a new historical record. Container production and sales accounted for 96% of the global market share, with production capacity primarily distributed in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions. As a core force in the global container industry, China is leveraging "small containers" to drive a vast industrial chain, writing a new chapter in the transformation and upgrading of the real economy.
Transformation of Materials
From "Steel Boxes" to "Super Modules"
On the morning of April 8, under clear skies at the northern bank of the Yangtze River estuary in Qidong City, Jiangsu Province, over 50 newly manufactured containers stood in orderly rows at the factory site of Dongfang International Container (Qidong) Co., Ltd. In a few hours, these containers will head to Shanghai's Yangshan Port to be delivered to the eagerly awaiting European clients.
Stepping into the energy storage container production workshop of Dongfang International Container (Qidong) Co., Ltd., rows of white containers come into view. At first glance, they appear no different from ordinary shipping containers. But upon opening the doors, a completely different scene unfolds: neatly arranged battery modules, complete with supporting safety systems, thermal management, power distribution, communication, and environmental control systems—resembling a portable "giant power bank".
"Building containers today is far from simply 'welding iron boxes.' Every material used, from the inside out, is carefully selected. Whether it's the container frame or even a single panel, everything differs significantly from the past". With years of experience in the container industry, Zhai Jianxing, the company's technical department manager, succinctly captured a material transformation spanning over a decade.
"In recent years, the rapid development of the new energy industry has led to a surge in demand for energy storage containers, yet the barriers to entry in this emerging sector remain high". Zhai Jianxing did the math on the "technical account": while the warranty period for standard shipping containers is typically two years, energy storage containers are required to last over 20 years, with increasingly stringent standards for explosion-proofing, fire resistance, corrosion resistance, and overall protection. What's more complicated is that this standard system must also "adapt to local conditions." For an energy storage container to be sold globally, the stack of technical documentation would tower over the container itself.
How to crack this "tough nut"? "Materials are the first line of defense." Zhai Jianxing said, take anti-corrosion as an example. In the past, most containers were made of weathering low-alloy structural steel, relying on three layers of paint for anti-corrosion. To identify the ideal new material, the company's team conducted continuous testing and iterations, ultimately selecting zinc-aluminum-magnesium coated low-alloy structural steel. This steel material possesses exceptional corrosion resistance and self-healing capabilities, enabling it to withstand harsh coastal environments with high salt spray and extreme temperature variations, effectively addressing the service life challenges of containers.
There are many such changes. The once "iron box" has undergone a complete makeover from head to toe: for fire prevention, containers are now clad in ceramic wool "armor"; for greater environmental friendliness, traditional oil-based paint has been entirely replaced with eco-friendly water-based paint; to reduce the consumption of forest resources, wooden container floors have been swapped out for bamboo flooring...
Currently, the company's team is fully dedicated to advancing bio-based material technology, utilizing corn stalks to manufacture containers. "Does it sound unbelievable?" Zhai Jianxing explained that corn stalks are crushed and processed through biological extraction and polymerization to produce bio-based polymer materials. These materials are then blended with fibers, layered, and molded into continuous fiber bio-based composite boards. The density of the finished bio-based composite panels is less than one-fourth that of steel, yet their tensile performance is two to three times that of metal.
One transformation after another in materials has turned what were once simple welded "iron boxes" into technological products integrated with various innovative materials. Material innovation has not only elevated the quality of traditional shipping containers but also enabled their application in scenarios such as new energy power generation, energy storage, computing centers, and modular construction.
