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Plenary speaker I

Prof. Dr. Richard Todd

Department of Materials, University of Oxford, England                                                                                                    

 

Fast firing rebooted: the remarkable acceleration of sintering through ultra-rapid heating

Plenary room, Monday, 14. September 2026, 09:45 - 10.30
Sintering has been a slow process for most of its history, requiring furnace cycles of hours or even days. A reduction in sintering time to several minutes was achieved in the second half of the 20th century by “fast firing” using short heating and cooling cycles but recently, densification in only a few seconds has been demonstrated using very rapid heating methods such as flash sintering and ultra-fast high temperature sintering (UHS). In this work, detailed analysis of the densification of alumina with different heating rates shows that the sintering rate at a given temperature and density is accelerated by ultra-rapid heating. This is partly accounted for by microstructural refinement but there remains an additional increase in sintering rate at a given temperature and density of up to a factor of 20, suggesting an increase in the diffusion rate. This conclusion is directly confirmed here by adding particles of chromia to alumina green bodies as a diffusion tracer. The results demonstrate an acceleration of diffusion in the early stages of rapid heating correlating well with the sintering results. It is suggested that this acceleration of diffusion is a consequence of the formation of non-equilibrium grain boundary structures in the early stages of sintering. Independent evidence for these effects is reviewed.

 

Plenary speaker II

ppa. Dr.-Ing. Florian Reichert

Global Business Manager Aerospace, Defense and Innovation, Schunk Kohlenstofftechnik GmbH, Germany 

Fiber-Reinforced Composites for Next-Generation Fusion and Fission Reactors: Advances and Opportunities

Plenary room, Tuesday, 15. September 2026, 09:00 - 09.45

Recent advances in composite materials highlight their growing importance for both fusion and next?generation fission reactors. Tungsten fiber-reinforced tungsten (Wf/W) composites have demonstrated substantial improvements in toughness, pseudo-ductility, and thermal shock resistance, addressing tungsten’s intrinsic brittleness under extreme heat loads in fusion environments. Parallel developments in silicon-carbide fiber–reinforced SiC matrix (SiC-SiC) composites show exceptional irradiation tolerance, high-temperature strength, and favorable nuclear properties, making them strong candidates for fuel cladding and structural components in advanced fission systems as well as future fusion devices.

Together, these material systems illustrate a broader trend: engineered fiber-reinforced composites enable superior resistance to neutron damage, thermal stresses, and corrosive environments, addressing key reliability challenges across reactor concepts. Their maturation is poised to significantly enhance reactor safety margins, component lifetimes, and overall performance in forthcoming nuclear energy technologies.

 

Plenary speaker III

Prof. Dr. Suelen Barg

Institut für Materials Resource Management, University of Augsburg, Germany                                                

MXenes in Functional Applications: from Energy to Ceramic Pathways

Plenary room, Tuesday, 15. September 2026, 10:00 - 10.45

MXenes are a rapidly emerging class of two-dimensional materials with significant potential in functional applications, particularly in energy storage and related electrochemical applications. Their unique combination of electrical conductivity, surface chemistry, and processability enables high-performance materials while supporting efficient formulation and processing as well as simpler material designs. At the same time, their behaviour can be strongly influenced by processing and operating conditions, affecting stability, performance, and potential transformations. Understanding and controlling these aspects is key to unlocking their broader use. This talk provides a perspective on MXenes across functional applications, highlighting current developments and exploring how these materials may open new pathways toward ceramic systems.