Advanced Fusion Materials

This workshop, hosted by Big Science Sweden and the European Spallation Source (ESS), will be the founding event to create a European community for Advanced Fusion Materials.

The aim of this workshop materials roadmap initiative is to investigate material technologies with potential use in fusion power plants. The path forward is to work together with industry, labs, big science organizations and academia to identify critical technology gaps. Setting priorities for innovation driven development in the most critical areas to provide guidelines and support to stakeholders setting up funding and investment schemes for fusion materials projects.

The scope of this workshop will cover the design, processes, fabrication, and testing of advanced materials for nuclear fusion reactors, as well as solutions and opportunities in this field.

The main objectives of this workshop are to:

• Identify R&D opportunities for future fusion reactors,
• Facilitate the exchange of knowledge,
• Foster collaboration and partnerships.

During the event, several break out rooms will be set-up for discussion, with the following topics:

• Materials testing and test facilities – Emphasis on testing and evaluation of materials that will be exposed to neutrons, gamma, heat fluxes and various cooling media.
• High temperature materials for Tritium breeding – Baseline vs innovations. What concepts for test reactors are realistic for fusion power plants (also next generation fission). Liquid metals or liquid salts containing lithium with low TRL but interesting material combinations.
• Plasma facing materials – Materials challenges to survive plasma generated particles and thermal shocks. Alternative materials and configurations.
• Structural materials – New composites, ceramics, multilayer materials that can survive decades of operations at relatively high temperature and exposure to variants of coolant medias (synergies with fission).
• Heat sinks and shielding materials – Challenges to select shielding materials (and coatings) to protect functional materials and heat sinks providing thermal transfer to coolant median and power generation.

More information can be found in the Advanced Materials Workshop brochure.

The workshop will consist of an in-person meeting in Lund (Sweden) on May 5-6, 2026 (2 days).

There will also be the unique opportunity to visit the European Spallation Source (ESS) in the morning of the 7th of May.

You can consult the draft agenda for more information.

We look forward to your participation!

Deadline for registration: 10/04/2026

The available slots are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Please make sure to register as soon as possible to secure your spot.

For questions, please contact: Advanced-Materials-Workshop@f4e.europa.eu