Hydrogen Adoption Across Industries: Materials Challenges and Engineering Solutions

Slowing the Unstoppable – Can we really avoid hydrogen entering materials? - Francesco Fanicchia, Cranfield University

Hydrogen permeation through structural materials can lead to hydrogen damage in both metallic and composite systems and therefore poses a significant challenge to the development and long-term reliability of hydrogen-based energy systems. This talk examines the mechanisms of hydrogen transport in metals and polymers, the methodologies used to quantify permeation rates, and the limitations of current testing standards, particularly for metallic systems. It also discusses recent advances in mitigation strategies, including hydrogen permeation barrier (HPB) coatings and microstructural trapping approaches, aimed at reducing steady-state flux. While complete prevention of hydrogen ingress is not feasible, understanding and managing permeation is essential to ensure the safe deployment of hydrogen technologies across aerospace, energy, and transport sectors.

Developing and Validating Test Machines for Hydrogen Applications: Enabling Safe, Reliable Testing Across Sectors and Supply Chains – Vicki Wilkes, Darvick

Hydrogen is a key enabler in the transition to net-zero, with applications spanning transport, aerospace, and heavy industry. However, its use—especially under high-pressure, high-temperature, or cryogenic conditions—introduces complex material and safety challenges. Accurate assessment of mechanical performance in these environments is essential to generate reliable data for design databases, predictive models, and safety validation.
Despite growing demand, there remains a recognised shortfall in UK-based, commercially available, test capabilities for hydrogen environments with the required scope, accuracy, reliability and repeatability.
This presentation outlines the development and validation of test machines and methods engineered to address this gap. We will explore the technical and commercial challenges encountered and share some of the innovative solutions we have developed, as well as the areas where ongoing cross-sector and supply chain engagement would help to support the safe, rapid, and robust adoption of hydrogen as a fuel.

Materials Challenges for Hydrogen in Aerospace – Louise Gale, Rolls-Royce

As part of the drive for Net Zero emissions by 2050 aerospace OEMs are in the early stages of development of hydrogen fuelled gas turbines engines. As part of this Rolls-Royce is actively developing hydrogen gas turbine engine technology. Storing, pumping, metering and combustion of H2 requires innovative technologies which are undergoing integration and validation through a demonstrator project, which involves the modification of a Pearl15 gas turbine engine for ground testing with gaseous and cryogenic liquid hydrogen. The introduction of hydrogen as the primary fuel introduces novel failure modes that are driven by materials challenges including hydrogen embrittlement, increased water vapour environmental attack and materials cryogenic performance. There is the need for development of methodologies to incorporate these materials risks into component integrity assessments to ensure safe and reliable operation of engines. This talk will present the materials challenges and opportunities presented by the use of hydrogen fuel in aerospace compared with  more established hydrogen industries. It will also provide insights into Rolls-Royce’s preliminary work in materials modelling and testing & test method development to address these challenges.

Cryo-mechanical Testing for Hydrogen Adoption: Challenges in Fusion and Aerospace - Khurram Amjad, UK Atomic Energy Authority
As hydrogen becomes central to zero-emission energy strategies, both the nuclear fusion and aviation sectors are advancing their use of cryogenic hydrogen technologies. These developments introduce demanding requirements for structural materials, which must maintain integrity under extreme cryogenic and hydrogen-rich conditions. Meeting these challenges calls for robust solutions across the technology lifecycle—from accelerated material qualification and innovative component design to in-service structural health monitoring in complex, multi-physics environments. This talk highlights the overlapping cryo-mechanical testing needs in fusion and hydrogen-powered aviation, with a focus on ensuring structural integrity through advanced strain measurement techniques.

Hydrogen Fueled Internal Combustion Engines for the Machinery & Equipment Sector - Richard Doyle, JCB

JCB has developed, certified, and released to market, a hydrogen-fueled Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). This powertrain technology is a relevant and practical zero-emissions solution for construction, mining and agricultural equipment.
This talk will explain the advantages of H2-ICE verses alternative zero carbon emitting technologies for our sector. In addition, the remaining challenges to the success of this technology in our industrial sector will be discussed.
What are the material challenges that had to be overcome, to utilise existing ICE technology with a gaseous hydrogen fuel? And what material science questions remain un-answered in order to develop H2-ICE technology further into higher power engine variants?
These materials challenges will be presented as an opportunity for the academic and commercial test worlds of materials science to assist in the industrial advancement of a working green powertrain solution.

Design Methodology for Hydrogen Pressure Systems – Charlie Hutchings, Frazer-Nash Consultancy

Hydrogen embrittlement effects typically manifest as a reduction in fatigue and fracture resistance. In the design of pressure systems the effects of hydrogen embrittlement must be considered, particularly with respect to fatigue life. Currently, the only accepted and standardised approach to calculating fatigue life for pressure systems in hydrogen service is fracture mechanics. The basis for materials, joining, and inspection requirements specific to hydrogen pressure systems will be presented alongside examples of fracture mechanics fatigue life evaluation for cyclic hydrogen service. Anticipated, code updates to facilitate a total life fatigue assessment for hydrogen pressure systems will be discussed.

Understanding Hydrogen Embrittlement: From Lab-scale Insights to Real-world Applications – Alfredo Zafra, Oxford University

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) remains a critical challenge in the deployment of hydrogen technologies, particularly affecting high-strength alloys used in energy, transportation, and infrastructure sectors. Despite over a century of research, the complex mechanisms of HE continue to hinder the development of reliable hydrogen systems. At the Mechanics of Materials Lab, University of Oxford, our research focuses on elucidating the fundamental processes of HE through advanced experimental techniques and multi-scale modelling. We investigate hydrogen interactions at the microstructural level, aiming to understand how hydrogen affects material properties and contributes to failure. Our work includes developing predictive models that integrate experimental data to simulate hydrogen-induced degradation under various service conditions. This presentation will provide an overview of our group's approach to studying HE, highlighting recent findings and their implications for material design and structural integrity. We will discuss how our integrated methodology contributes to the development of hydrogen-resistant materials and supports the safe implementation of hydrogen technologies across industries.

Francesco Fanicchia, Cranfield University
Francesco Fanicchia received his M.Sc. in Materials Science from the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Ph.D. on ceramic Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBC) design for aerospace gas turbines from The University of Nottingham (UK). From 2018 to 2021 he was senior project leader at TWI Ltd (Cambridge,UK), where he coordinated large research programs on design and corrosion performance optimisation of novel coatings for industrial decarbonisation. In 2022 he joined Cranfield University as Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Surface Engineering and further appointed Research Area Lead in Materials Systems for Demanding Environments (MS4DE) by the Henry Royce Institute. His research focuses on design of coatings and alloys for the hydrogen economy, including hydrogen embrittlement, hydrogen permeation and oxidation in high water vapour environments.

Vicki Wilkes, Darvick Ltd
With a BEng (Hons) in Materials Science and Engineering Vicki’s career has been focussed in and around the world of Materials Testing Technology. In 2003 Vicki and her husband, Darren, established Phoenix Materials testing Ltd, designing and supporting bespoke materials testing machines for customers around the world. Phoenix was sold in 2018, after a brief interim adventure setting up and running a Live Entertainment Venue, Vicki and Darren returned to materials testing in Dec 2020 with the establishment of Darvick Ltd. Based in Brierley Hill, Darvick specialises in developing equipment and services for mechanical testing under extreme environments, supporting R&D of product and materials technology in sectors such as Aerospace, Automotive, Pharmaceutical and Nuclear. Vicki is passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation and the UK manufacturing supply chain as a whole.

Louise Gale, Rolls-Royce
Louise Gale is a Materials Specialist at Rolls-Royce in the Future Technologies team and a fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining. The focus of her work at Rolls-Royce has been on the development and validation of new materials for future aerospace applications – including ceramic matrix composites and electrical materials. She is currently the materials lead for Rolls-Royce’s hydrogen burning gas turbine engine demonstrator program.

Khurram Amjad - UK Atomic Energy Authority
Dr Khurram Amjad earned his PhD from the University of Liverpool in 2017 and spent four years as a postdoctoral researcher on aerospace industry projects. Since 2022, he has been with the UK Atomic Energy Authority, leading the development of full-field mechanical testing at cryogenic temperatures. His work focuses on characterising advanced structural materials in extreme environments using techniques such as digital image correlation and infrared thermography.

Richard Doyle - JCB
Richard has worked within academic and commercial materials testing and consultancy for 20+ years. Richard's expertise is in environmentally assisted cracking mechanisms of metallic alloys in the presence of hydrogen. Industrial experience ranges from Aerospace, Automotive and Defence, to Energy generation, Nuclear and the Oil & Gas sectors. For the last 3 & a half years Richard has supported JCB on materials selection and validation in the development of a hydrogen fuelled combustion engine.

Charlie Hutchings, Frazer-Nash Consultancy
Charlie is a Senior Materials Performance Engineer at Frazer-Nash Consultancy, working in asset integrity with a focus on the material compatibility of new and existing infrastructure with hydrogen. Charlie is currently completing an industry applied engineering doctorate (EngD) at the University of Surrey, he leads a number of industrial research projects alongside supervising PhD projects at Oxford University and Cranfield University, where his research focuses upon developing an insight into the effects of hydrogen embrittlement, and its mitigation. He is a graduate of Imperial College London and holds a master’s in Materials Engineering (MEng).

Alfredo Zafra - Cranfield University
Dr. Alfredo Zafra is a senior postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, where he is in charge of the Hydrogen Embrittlement Lab in the Department of Engineering Science. He previously worked as a research associate at Imperial College London and has a strong background in the mechanical behaviour of metals. His current research focuses on developing hydrogen-resistant alloys using advanced manufacturing techniques, including additive manufacturing and nanofabrication.