**Abstract**

Austenitic stainless steels require approximately 8% Ni to maintain austenitic microstructure at room temperature for alloys such as 304 stainless steel (304SS). Ni contributes approximately 60% of the total material cost and its price fluctuates, making the cost of austenitic stainless steel unpredictable. The use of low-nickel austenitic stainless steels as a substitute has been considered in order to remedy costs associated with Ni price fluctuations. Alloying elements such as Mn and N have been considered, however they have been found to reduce corrosion resistance. A new alloy namely Hercules™ has been developed with reduced Ni content (1.8–2% Ni). This chapter presents a comparative study of the corrosion behavior of Hercules™ and 304SS in different solutions. The alloys were evaluated using cyclic polarisation technique and immersion tests. The results demonstrated that the corrosion resistance of Hercules™ is comparable to that of 304SS. This presents the alloys as potential industrial substitutes of each other.

**Keywords:** low-nickel austenitic stainless steel, Hercules™ alloy, pitting corrosion, electrochemistry, cyclic polarisation
