The development of EUROFER reduced activation steel

Ferritic martensitic steels show limited swelling and susceptibility to helium effects and can be made with low activation chemical compositions. These properties make them the reference steel for the development of breeding blankets in fusion power plants. EUROFER97 is the European implementation of such a steel, where experience gained from an IEA co-operation with Japan and the US is also implemented. Results obtained so far show that EUROFER steel has attractive mechanical properties even after long ageing times. Compatibility tests in water and PbLi17 are in progress. Oxidised aluminium is the most effective protective layer in PbLi17. The displacement damage and helium formation strongly influence the hydrogen transport in the steel. Present experiments should be backed by tests in a more fusion relevant environment, e.g. IFMIF. The 2.5 dpa neutron irradiations at low temperatures result in a higher DBTT. High dose irradiations, up to 80 dpa, are underway. The early results of ODS grades with EUROFER steel composition show potential of these grades for increasing the operating temperature with 100–150 K.