Control number 3240-1548 university of illinois urbana - champaign DE-FOA-0003240 chadwick project title: graded: gradient composites with radiation amorphization-enabled dimensional stability and…

The Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded a $2.279 million cooperative agreement to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on November 5, 2025, under the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy program (CFDA 81.135) to develop a graded composite structural component for fusion reactor environments.

The project, titled GRADED: Gradient Composites with Radiation Amorphization-Enabled Dimensional Stability and Energy, aims to create a novel material that combines functionality currently split across two separate structures in fusion reactor designs. The component must operate between the plasma-facing first wall and tritium breeding blanket while providing high strength and toughness, conducting heat, and maintaining these properties under irradiation exposure. The proposed graded composite features a gradient chemical composition and microstructure throughout its thickness, replacing the two-part current design with a single integrated component. Work is performed in Champaign, Illinois, with a period of performance through November 4, 2028.

Control number 3240-1548 university of illinois urbana - champaign DE-FOA-0003240 chadwick project title: graded: gradient composites with radiation amorphization-enabled dimensional stability and energy new award the purpose of this project is to develop a novel component that can survive in a fusion environment and function between the plasma-facing first wall and the tritium breeding blanket. This structural component must serve numerous purposes, including providing high strength and toughness, conducting heat, and maintaining these functions even during exposure to irradiation. Current fusion reactors plan for a two-part structure between the first wall and blanket. Graded will replace these two parts with a single component that has a gradient chemical composition and microstructure (the microscale structure of a material) throughout its thickness.