Austenitic stainless steels possess good corrosion resistance, weldability, and high toughness at very low temperatures. However, their very low yield strength limits their use in large storage structures such as tanks for liquid hydrogen, water, biogas and the like. This project aims to address this issue by developing high strength tough austenitic stainless steels, using the innovative concepts of thermomechanically controlled processing (TMCP). The use of TMCP will permit lightweighting in such storage structures and will promote the elimination of the solution annealing step in plate manufacture, both contributing to reduced carbon footprint as well as production and usage costs.

The above aims are realised through several planned work packages:

• WP1 : Project Management and Dissemination
• WP2 : Materials Design and Production
• WP3 : Thermomechanical Processing
• WP4: Microstructure Characterisation
• WP5: Mechanical and Application Properties
• WP6: Industrial Implementation

The expected results will be new weldable austenitic stainless steels possessing high strength, good toughness, and adequate corrosion resistance.
Finally, the proposed applications also address climate change i.e. LH2 for the hydrogen economy.