Fusion-grade steel from UKAEA

Th UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) say there is potential for up to 10x production cost-savings for reduced activation steel.

The UKAEA believes this UK first could reduce production costs and improve the efficiency of future fusion power plants.

The Neutron Irradiation of Advanced Steels consortium's fusion-grade, reduced-activation, ferritic-martensitic steel (RAFM) was produced at an industrial scale using a 7t electric arc furnace at the Materials Processing Institute in Middlesbrough.

David Bowden, Group Team Leader for Materials Science and Engineering at UKAEA and NEURONE programme lead, notes, 'One of the major challenges for delivering fusion energy is developing structural materials able to withstand the extreme temperatures (at least up to 650°C) and high neutron loads required by future fusion powerplants.

'The production of 5.5t of fusion-grade RAFM steel lays the foundation for cost-effective manufacturing of these types of fusion steel for future commercial fusion programmes.'

The NEURONE Consortium is a ~£12mln collaboration between UKAEA’s Materials Division and academic and industry partners across the UK, as well as international partners, which provide access to neutron irradiation facilities.