LIST supports eco-innovative surface treatment processes for accelerated discovery of materials for major transitions

The Materials Department of the Institute is collaborating with the CEA's transversal materials programme to explore the potential of atmospheric plasma surface treatment technologies for the accelerated discovery of new materials.

The development of hydrogen technologies represents an opportunity, both in Luxembourg and on a European scale, to accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon society. For several years, the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) has been putting its expertise at the service of several projects in this field. It is now collaborating with the CEA through the establishment of a partnership with the French giant's transversal materials programme, which is intended to evaluate the potential of these atmospheric technologies for the major transitions: energy, digital and health technologies.

The research theme of the first collaborative project, called "Atmosphere", is related to new energies and in particular the hydrogen sector. "The aim is to develop a barrier coating to prevent the degradation of certain components. This is a complementary solution to other hydrogen technologies studied at LIST," explains Patrick Choquet, Head of the Plasma Process Engineering group at LIST.

The surface treatment of the components produced in the LIST laboratories at Belval will then be evaluated at the CEA. It should be more efficient and less expensive than the alternatives available on the market.

The evaluation of this plasma technology is part of a benchmark supported by the CEA's transversal materials programme, one of its priorities being an active technological watch for emerging processes with a high potential for industrialisation; nanomanufacturing, thin films and 3D printing in particular.

Other application avenues for this promising technology in terms of sobriety could be the subject of new collaborative projects between LIST and the CEA, in particular in the field of the accelerated development of coatings against corrosion or surface treatment solutions for medical devices.

In particular, with the CNRS, the CEA's transversal materials programme is co-piloting the French national DIADEM programme on accelerated materials discovery in the context of France 2030.

“We are delighted that a centre such as the CEA is calling on our expertise in functional coatings. This new project in the field of hydrogen completes the LIST strategy which, on the one hand, helps to deploy more efficient hydrogen technologies in the medium term and, on the other, to invent the second-generation technologies that are essential for a massive post-2030 market,” adds Damien Lenoble, Director of the Materials Research and Technology Department at LIST.