UK and US Join Forces in £3m Fusion Power Materials Push
The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have kicked off a £3 million, five-year smash-and-grab to crack the code on materials for future fusion powerplants. The goal? Develop ultra-tough materials that can withstand the punishing conditions inside fusion reactors.
Fierce Neutron Tests at Top US Facility
This powerhouse partnership will irradiate materials using the ORNL High Flux Isotope Reactor—one of the world’s most advanced neutron sources. The same materials will then be tested at ORNL and UKAEA’s Culham Campus in Oxfordshire. Fusion plants face brutal conditions: intense neutron bombardment and soaring temperatures that can wreck materials, shortening reactor lifespans.
Dr Amanda Quadling, UKAEA’s Director of Materials Research, explained: “This deal gives UKAEA access to ORNL’s treasure trove of irradiated materials, including iron-chromium alloys, advanced steels, silicon carbide composites, and copper alloys.”
She added: “We’re also sending brand-new materials into the neutron reactor, like high-temp steels developed by UKAEA and UK industry, plus special coatings and welded materials.”
Future Fuels: The Breeder Blanket Breakthrough
The duo’s research zooms in on the crucial ‘breeder blanket’ – a key component that produces the fusion fuel tritium, making powerplants self-sufficient. Post-irradiation, materials will undergo rigorous tensile and hardness tests to measure the toll neutron radiation takes, such as hardening and loss of ductility.
Advanced microstructural analysis will dig deep into how neutron blasts affect chemical makeup and precipitate stability, ensuring materials stay tough and reliable over years of fusion powerplant action.
Sharing Skills and Data to Power the Future
This fusion dream team launched the UK Fusion Materials Roadmap in 2021 to deliver neutron-resilient materials and vital testing data for design engineers building the next-gen powerplants. Findings will be published in journals and materials handbooks and shared widely with industry to speed up fusion material breakthroughs.
The partnership also features staff exchanges between the UK and US facilities, swapping expertise and skills to turbocharge progress.
