Hydrogen Loading in Fe-Ni based alloys

Hydrogen production, storage, and usage play a crucial role in the energy transformation involving industrial processes
and mobility. Consequently, its reactivity with commonly used materials is increasingly important, such as the known
susceptibility of steels to embrittlement or electronic effects on materials due to hydrogen loading. High-alloy austenitic
steels are state-of-the-art materials, albeit costly due to high Nickel (Ni) contents. An advantage in costs and resource
savings is given by alternative material concepts using Ni-reduced steels with tailormade microstructures. As part of a
larger coordinated research initiative between the universities of Duisburg-Essen and Bochum, we aim to enhance our
understanding of the impact of defined hydrogen loadings on the electronic and structural characteristics of novel
materials concepts using additive manufacturing, i.e., powder bed fusion. Neutron scattering is key to detect light
elements, such as hydrogen. Neutron PDF and magnetic SANS are the techniques of choice to elucidate the
microstructure at different length scales, ranging from the local atomistic structure to nanoscale structural and magnetic
inhomogeneities [1-5] and establish a correlation between processing parameters, microstructure, and the desired
macroscopic properties.