Tiangong International’s High-Boron Steel for Nuclear Fusion Draws Attention from France’s ITER | Breakthrough in Powder Metallurgy 304B7 Material

Tiangong International’s High-Boron Steel for Nuclear Fusion Draws Attention from France’s ITER | Breakthrough in Powder Metallurgy 304B7 Material

Recently, at an industry forum held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai, Dr. Yu Yang, Chief Scientist of Tiangong International Co., Ltd. (“Tiangong International”), delivered a keynote report titled “New-Type Powder High-Boron Steel and Its Applications in Nuclear (Fusion and Fission) Reactors.” The report highlighted the company’s latest industrial achievements in high-boron steel materials, attracting significant industry attention.

The report noted that Tiangong International has successfully developed, for the first time in China on an industrial scale, a 304B7 powder metallurgy high-boron steel material (with a boron content of 2%). Compared to similar materials produced via traditional casting processes, this new material demonstrates significantly improved strength and toughness. Test data show an average V-notch impact toughness of 16.92J, an average tensile strength of 784.65 MPa, an average yield strength of 373.77 MPa, a percentage elongation after fracture of 20.20%, and a percentage reduction in area of 18.49%. These comprehensive properties are markedly superior to those of conventional high-boron steel materials.

High-boron steel is known for its excellent neutron absorption capacity and good corrosion resistance, making it an important functional material for nuclear power equipment. Tiangong International’s 304B7 powder metallurgy material is expected to be widely used in critical components of both nuclear fusion and fission devices.

In the field of nuclear fusion, the material can be applied to key areas such as the shielding blanket of fusion reactors, vacuum vessel interlayers, divertor bases, and the bottom of lower ports. In nuclear fission applications, it can be used in core baffles, neutron absorber plates, control rod guide tubes, the inner walls of certain small or experimental reactor pressure vessels, and the casings of nuclear waste storage and transport containers.

Notably, these achievements have drawn significant interest from the research team of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France. In response to ITER’s requirements, Tiangong International has completed the processing and testing of specially designed complex structural components and has sent sample parts to the ITER organization in France for further validation.

Through multiple rounds of technical exchanges and communication, the two parties have established a solid foundation for collaboration and look forward to deeper technical and commercial cooperation in the future. With this partnership as a starting point, Tiangong International’s powder metallurgy high-boron steel material is steadily gaining recognition in the international fusion engineering community. This also marks an important step forward in China’s self-sustained development of advanced nuclear materials and signals that Chinese enterprises are enhancing their voice in the global nuclear fusion energy supply chain.