MANUFACTURING | NOVEL MATERIALS
“if you need something that is high-temperature, radiation- resistant and also structurally strong, you look toward a ceramic composite”. “There is clearly a race on in AMRs and fusion,” he observes.
“Part of that race is for companies that can identify, develop and validate the materials they need as quickly as possible.”
New materials applications Advanced materials are also creating opportunities in fuel fabrication. One area of particular interest is flash sintering, a process that applies an electric current during ceramic sintering operations. Goodhead believes the technology could offer
High-temperature advanced modular reactor (AMR) technologies demand materials capable of operating reliably at temperatures substantially beyond those encountered in current light-water reactor designs. Source: US DOE.
solution,” Abbott notes. In many cases, the challenge is not simply creating a material capable of surviving high temperatures but integrating it into practical engineering systems. “You often need to be able to bond it to a metal,” Abbott explains, adding: “Some current technologies can’t withstand these harsh environments and now you’re looking at other manufacturing techniques that enable you to incorporate this high- temperature material into a design”. Considering advanced nuclear technologies, fusion
also presents a demanding challenge for materials that must be able to withstand extreme temperatures, intense neutron bombardment and severe mechanical stresses simultaneously. For this reason, advanced ceramics and ceramic matrix composites are receiving considerable attention internationally. “There is a drive for developing both monolithic ultra-high-
temperature ceramics and ceramic composites,” Abbott says. Ultra-high-temperature ceramics (UHTCs) can withstand
One emerging application for geopolymers involves the development of radiation shielding materials. Source: Lucideon
temperatures that would rapidly degrade most metallic materials. However, where mechanical strength becomes equally important, composite solutions often offer advantages. Abbott explains: “Ceramic composites will typically survive at very high temperatures and because they’re a composite that contains fibre, they’re also much more structurally stable.” The combination of temperature resistance, radiation
tolerance and structural performance makes such materials attractive for numerous fusion applications. Abbott adds that
significant benefits for future nuclear fuel manufacturing, saying: “One of our proprietary technologies is an alternative means of sintering.” Rather than relying solely on prolonged high-temperature
furnace operation, flash sintering uses electrical energy to accelerate densification. “It allows you to carry out the sintering process that’s required to manufacture the fuel at a much lower ambient temperature and at a quicker rate,” Goodhead explains. For radioactive materials, this could substantially simplify operational and safety requirements. He has also commented that the technology has already
progressed beyond laboratory theory: “We’ve actually carried that out not just on simulants but in a hot environment, on radioactive uranium, so we know it works.” Advanced materials science is also helping the current
nuclear fleet. Lucideon operates specialist facilities in the US focused on stress corrosion cracking (SCC), one of the key degradation mechanisms affecting nuclear plant components. The objective is to better understand how cracks initiate and propagate under nuclear operating conditions. “We’re world leaders in understanding how cracks initiate and propagate in that extremely harsh environment,” Goodhead says. He adds that such knowledge can directly support plant
life extension programmes: “By understanding how a crack might propagate, while still being prudent, you can unwind your conservatism to make sure you’re getting the most life out of an existing nuclear reactor.” With many operators seeking to extend reactor lifetimes beyond original design expectations, such insights are becoming increasingly valuable.
A material-driven future Whether addressing legacy wastes, immobilising plutonium, extending reactor lifetimes, enabling advanced fuels, supporting AMRs or developing fusion systems, materials innovation increasingly sits at the centre of nuclear progress. For Abbott, the challenge is no longer simply inventing
new materials. It is creating complete solutions that can be manufactured, qualified and deployed at industrial scale whilst providing a step change in performance. “It’s not just about developing the material that survives and you put it in a lab and say, ‘great, it gives you the properties’,” he says. “You need the manufacturing processes that are required to enable those materials to be manufactured at scale and incorporated within a system.” As the nuclear industry enters a period defined by both a new phase of decommissioning and new build, materials technologies such as geopolymers, advanced ceramics and ceramic composites may prove essential in helping manage the liabilities of the past while enabling future reactors of the future. ■
38 | July 2026 |
www.neimagazine.com
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