Sustainability cannot be achieved without further improvement of existing technologies, or even better, with disruptive quantum leaps. Nuclear energy, both fission and fusion, in alliance with renewables, has a most important role to play towards the planet’s net zero CO2 goals. The challenging environments associated with next-generation nuclear reactors vary according to the reactor design and the components of interest, but involve extremes of temperature, radiation, corrosion, stress, and heat flux.
A new kind of materials -called High Entropy Alloys (HEAs)- represent a unique opportunity for the design of alloys for harsh conditions, such as advanced nuclear applications, or other applications where current materials fall short. Surface coating technology has brought new vitality to the development of HEAs, which relieves the restrictions of preparation and industrial application caused by the cost of bulk HEAs and enhances the possibility of rapid design for new materials.
Our project represents an integrative experimental/computational approach to develop a new generation of materials for nuclear reactors. We will study and design the new HEA coatings for extreme conditions of service, with minimal impact on the environment. The project links world-class research groups: i) Bangor University’s enhanced capabilities in advanced computational and experimental materials science and ii) University of Coimbra and Technical University Prague, worldwide recognized by the development/design and upscaling of coatings.
The project is one more step to established strategic research partnerships with top groups worldwide; we aspire to establish strategic research partnerships with industry to go further for a demonstrator project.

Funding awarded through the Bangor University Innovation and Impact Award (Research Wales Innovation Funding). Value = £50,000