Advanced Materials for Challenging High-Performance Engineering Applications

Tuesday, 12 May 2026

Reliable, high-performance materials are essential to meet the demanding requirements of systems and components in various industries such as space or energy applications, just to name a few. The challenge in these applications is often to find materials that combine very different properties. For example, common design challenges for materials and parts in space-based applications include mass, dimensional and thermal stability, ability to perform at both elevated and cryogenic temperatures, the ability to survive launch loads, and emissivity. Additionally, less common component requirements include high stability against hydrogen embrittlement or special optical properties. The manufacturing processes used to produce the corresponding semi-finished products for these critical applications must yield materials with highly stable properties with consistent quality standards at the lowest possible costs.  
High-performance materials are essential for such requirement profiles. This contribution is intended to provide an up-to-date overview of different high-performance alloys, their specific properties, and areas of industrial application. The following material groups will be discussed in particular:

Beryllium and Beryllium containing metallic alloys and ceramics

Metal matrix composite (“MMC”) materials

Refractory alloys (e.g. Tantalum and Niobium)

New developments in these materials and processes