Jinan, capital of Shandong province, led the province in the 2025 science and technology awards, winning 130 awards to secure first place for the fourth consecutive year.

The city claimed two of the Shandong's three special prizes and 29 of the province's 62 first prizes, highlighting its growing strength in scientific research and technological innovation. Jinan's 130 awards covered a broad range of fields, including 24 natural science prizes, 15 technology invention prizes, 85 science and technology progress prizes, five science and technology youth awards, and one international science and technology cooperation award.

Several award-winning projects demonstrated breakthroughs in key technologies. SICC Co Ltd, a silicon carbide substrate manufacturer, won a special prize for its project on the development and industrialization of large-size, high-quality silicon carbide semiconductor substrates.

Jinan also scored a breakthrough in industrial software, with Shandong Hoteam Software and nine other institutions receiving a first prize in science and technology progress for developing a 3D geometric modeling engine and a suite of 3D CAD platforms with proprietary intellectual property.

Young researchers are another driving force behind innovation in the city. Five of the province's 10 science and technology youth award winners came from Jinan, accounting for half of the total.

The 130 award-winning projects span all 13 of Jinan's key industry value chains, with emerging sectors such as aerospace information, artificial intelligence, and new-energy equipment demonstrating particularly strong performance.