Another step towards fusion energy has been taken with the development of reduced activation steel costing ten times less to produce than previously. A United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) working group has successfully demonstrated the industrial-scale production of fusion-grade steel. This achievement has the potential to reduce production costs by an order of magnitude and improve the efficiency of future fusion powerplants.
Breakthrough Achievement in Steel Production
In just its first year, the NEURONE (Neutron Irradiation of Advanced Steels) consortium has achieved a UK-first breakthrough. The group successfully produced fusion-grade reduced-activation ferritic-martensitic (RAFM) steel on an industrial scale, using a seven-tonne Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) at the Materials Processing Institute (MPI) in Middlesborough.
David Bowden, Group Team Leader for Materials Science and Engineering at UKAEA and NEURONE programme lead, said: “One of the major challenges for delivering fusion energy is developing structural materials able to withstand the extreme temperatures (at least up to 650 degrees Celsius (°C)) and high neutron loads required by future fusion powerplants.”
Overcoming Challenges in Fusion Powerplant Materials
The high temperatures and radiation levels caused by the high neutron loads arise as a result of the fusion reaction. The structural materials therefore serve an important role maintaining the integrity of the fusion powerplant under these conditions.
Based on EAF technology, with enhanced purification and thermomechanical protocols, this approach has the potential to dramatically decrease production costs by up to 10 times compared to conventional RAFM counterparts, utilising existing and readily scalable infrastructure within the supply chain.
Industry Collaboration for Fusion Energy Advancements
MPI led the trials which enabled the manufacture, testing and analysis of specialist high-temperature steels initially at laboratory scale leading to industrial-scale trials in their EAF. Richard Birley, NEURONE project lead at MPI said: “As the only sovereign UK steel research facility able to produce RAFM steel at this scale this is a groundbreaking moment for nuclear fusion R&D.”
“The production of 5.5 tonnes of fusion-grade RAFM steel lays the foundation for cost-effective manufacturing of these types of fusion steel for future commercial fusion programmes,” Dr Bowden explains.
Future Prospects for Fusion Energy Materials
“NEURONE plans to produce advanced variants of RAFM steel, capable of operating up to 650°C – a stretch target, given the solid-state physics of irradiated materials behaviour. Developing these types of steel could also benefit adjacent industries that require high-strength, high-temperature structural steels, such as nuclear fission or petrochemicals. The programme also intends to produce an optimised advanced RAFM alloy using the electric arc furnace at a similar multi-tonne scale to the best EU developmental fusion (RAFM) steel (EUROFER 97),” he concludes.
Consortium and Collaboration for Advancing Fusion Energy
The NEURONE Consortium is a ~£12M 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. NEURONE was established to research, test and develop steels to operate at higher temperatures compared to conventional counterparts. This will maximise the capacity of fusion machines to extract heat, which is used to power turbines and create electricity, improving the overall efficiency of powerplants.
Building the Future of Fusion Energy
The NEURONE Consortium consists of representatives from universities and organisations around the UK. Universities include the University of Swansea, University of Sheffield, University of Birmingham, Imperial College London, University of Manchester, University of Bristol, University of Strathclyde Glasgow and University of Oxford. Two industry partner organisations – the Materials Processing Institute and Sheffield Forgemasters – are involved as well as The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). NEURONE is also supporting a range of PhD students and summer student placements to upskill the next generation of researchers.
NEURONE has also produced more than 50 different variants of advanced reduced-activation ferritic-martensitic (ARAFM) steel alloy for analysis. New approaches have been established for analysing damage to materials, and data has been compiled on the performance of small initial lab-scale melts of material which range between 100 to 400 grams in mass.
Opportunities in the Fusion Energy Industry
There is potential opportunity for specialist UK steel manufacturers to be involved with the NEURONE Consortium’s activity in future, considering different aspects of ARAFM steel manufacture such as forging, rolling, and developing optimised process parameters.
Conclusion: Fusion Energy in the Future
UKAEA is the national organisation responsible for the research and delivery of sustainable fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. UKAEA runs the fusion machine MAST-Upgrade (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) and is delivering the transition of JET from plasma operations to repurposing and decommissioning. The insights gained from this process will contribute to the advancement of sustainable future fusion energy powerplants.
STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) is a major technology and infrastructure programme that will demonstrate net energy from fusion, fuel self-sufficiency and a route to plant maintenance. UKAEA is STEP’s fusion partner and will work alongside STEP’s industry partners – one in engineering and one in construction – expected to be announced at the end of 2025/early 2026.
The STEP programme is being delivered by UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd (UKIFS) a wholly owned subsidiary of UKAEA Group. UKIFS will lead STEP’s integrated delivery team to design and build the prototype plant at West Burton site in Nottinghamshire, targeting first operations in 2040.
UKAEA is now engaging in Fusion Futures, a programme that aims to foster world-leading innovation whilst stimulating general industry capacity through international collaboration and the development of future fusion powerplants.
