The phrase "a key step in the development" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing important phases or milestones in a process, project, or evolution of something.
Example: "Implementing user feedback was a key step in the development of the new software."
Alternatives: "an essential phase in the progress" or "a crucial milestone in the evolution".
Clean hydrogen production via WGS is a key step in the development of hydrogen fuel processors.
The work of Warming and Hyett represents a key step in the development of the method of modified equations.
Therefore, incorporating isotope fractionation in biogeochemical models combines the two tools and is a key step in the development of reactive transport models of EIB under field conditions.
Particularly lacking has been the open dissemination of protocols related to photolithography, a key step in the development of a replica mold for the manufacture of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) devices.
His bold and expressive brushwork, which made his paintings seem unfinished to his contemporaries, is now recognized as a key step in the development of oil-on-canvas painting.
The existence of well organized and ordered self-assembled alkylphosphonate monolayers with good barrier protecting properties in a physiological solution is a key step in the development of biocompatible Mg-alloy implants.
During oogenesis, follicle-cell differentiation along the AP axis is a key step in the proper development of the egg chamber and the establishment of oocyte polarity.
This is a key step in the understanding of related pathological conditions, and subsequently also important for drug development.
Approximately 50% of the western population develops metaplasia, a key step in cancer development [ 13], drawing attention to pathways that control proliferation and thereby cell differentiation.
Inhibition of apoptosis is a key step in tumor development and growth, promoting the selection and propagation of cells that can resist destruction by various cellular stresses.
Mutations are a key step in cancer development.
