EOS Joins Hydrogen Economy Consortium to Tackle Metal Materials

EOS has joined the MAT-H2 consortium, a collaborative initiative aimed at advancing materials and technologies for the hydrogen economy. The German metal AM leader will contribute its expertise in metal material development and additive manufacturing to address the demanding requirements hydrogen places on metallic components.

Why hydrogen needs new materials

Hydrogen is expected to play a key role in reducing emissions across energy-intensive industries and power generation. However, hydrogen environments are tough on metals. The gas can embrittle conventional alloys and accelerate corrosion, making material selection and manufacturing methods critical to adoption.

EOS industrial manager Paula Kainu put it plainly: hydrogen's future depends on solving complex material challenges. Additive manufacturing, she said, is a key enabler because it lets engineers develop, test, and optimise materials and components with greater speed and flexibility than conventional production.

What the consortium covers

The MAT-H2 consortium brings together industrial and research organisations around Wärtsilä's hydrogen-related WISE program, a Business Finland co-funded collaboration. Besides EOS and Wärtsilä, participants include Neste, Nordic Tank, Teknos, SSAB, Bumax, and SP Stainless. The group will work on material characterisation, component qualification, and application-driven development for hydrogen-powered systems.

EOS specifically will support metal AM process development and material testing for hydrogen environments. The company already produces nickel-based superalloys and other high-performance materials for demanding industrial use, so hydrogen applications are a natural extension.

If the consortium hits its targets, the work could accelerate hydrogen adoption in marine propulsion, large-scale energy storage, and industrial gas turbines. Those sectors have been waiting for materials that can survive hydrogen's harsh conditions without excessive maintenance or replacement costs.