DOE Awards Iowa State $1M to Research 3D Printed Tungsten for Nuclear Energy

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a $1 million grant to Iowa State University for R&D into using directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing (AM) of tungsten components for nuclear fusion reactors. The funding comes from the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) initiative, an R&D effort that spans five different US federal agencies.

Dr. Sougata Roy, an ISU assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is the principal investigator on the project, with University of North Dakota assistant professor of mechanical engineering Dr. Yachao Wang joining him, along with researchers from three DOE labs. As with other refractory metals, tungsten shows significant potential for nuclear energy owing to its high melting point and resistance to erosion.

However, tungsten is also quite difficult to work with using conventional manufacturing methods, which has driven the relevant academic communities to consider AM as a potential candidate for working with the material. That trajectory, meanwhile, has intersected with growing funding opportunities for R&D into new nuclear energy technologies.

In a press release, Dr. Sougata Roy said, “This work in advanced manufacturing, particularly in using [AM], is about making a difference. One of the major things that excites me about this project is working with nuclear energy. It’s the largest source of clean power in the United States. This emission-free electricity is important for the future. We’ll start with pure tungsten. Eventually we’ll develop new alloys to resolve this cracking challenge.”

Interest in nuclear energy is resurgent not only because of the need to reduce carbon emissions. Equally, the urgency to build up new power generation capacity for AI data centers has sent tech companies scrambling to lock down access to the cheapest available sources of electricity. Microsoft, for instance, recently made a deal with Constellation Energy to bring Three Mile Island — which has been inactive since 2019 — back into service by 2028.

Similarly to the recent DoD-funded project at Penn State University that will explore 3D printed ceramics, the ISU project will involve combining machine learning and simulation with real-world experiments. In fact, Dr. Roy told ISU that the machine learning aspect is in his opinion “the most unique part” of the planned R&D.

Along those lines, at a time when observers of the AI boom are starting to question where the ROI will come from, it’s notable that developing new materials for AM is a growing source of AI use-cases. While AI is often viewed as a potential enabling technology for AM, it’s becoming clear that, going forward, it may be just as crucial to keep in mind the reverse possibility.

Images courtesy of ISU