Low-carbon energy
The French Corrosion Institute works across a broad range of industrial sectors, all sharing a common challenge: preserving material integrity in the face of corrosion and degradation phenomena. From the oil and gas industry to offshore infrastructure, from the energy transition to the health sector, our teams bring recognised scientific and technical expertise to support industrial players in ensuring equipment durability, plant safety and material performance.
Hydrogen (H₂)
Context
Hydrogen is one of the most promising energy vectors for decarbonising industry and transport. However, handling it under high pressure exposes materials to specific embrittlement phenomena — hydrogen absorption, stress cracking, accelerated fatigue — which pose critical risks to infrastructure integrity. The French Corrosion Institute has state-of-the-art facilities to evaluate material behaviour across the entire value chain: production, transport, storage and end use.
Our missions
- Assess material resistance to hydrogen embrittlement under conditions representative of service.
- Characterise degradation mechanisms under pure or contaminated hydrogen.
- Contribute to the qualification of materials and components for hydrogen infrastructure.
- Develop test protocols tailored to the specific needs of the sector.
Our services
- Fracture toughness testing under pressure (ASTM E1820, ASTM F1624)
- Mechanical tests under hydrogen pressure (tensile, creep, fatigue)
- Fatigue crack propagation tests (ASTM E647)
- Autoclave exposure under hydrogen pressure
- Permeation tests through metals, composites and polymers
- Material evaluation at cryogenic temperatures (down to -150 °C)
- Testing with impurities (H₂S, moisture, CO) to simulate real-world conditions
- Development of bespoke test rigs for real components
- Consultancy, material selection and failure analysis
Nuclear — Radioactive waste storage
Context
The long-term storage of nuclear waste is one of the most complex corrosion challenges: containment materials must maintain their integrity over multi-century timescales, in confined and hard-to-access geochemical environments. Argillaceous rocks, granite, pore water — these underground media exert slow but continuous attack on metallic and cementitious structures. Added to these phenomena is microbial activity, often underestimated but potentially decisive in deep geological storage environments. The French Corrosion Institute provides rigorous scientific contributions to understand and model all these phenomena in support of radioactive waste management stakeholders.
Our missions
- Study the mechanisms of slow, long-term corrosion of containment materials in deep geochemical environments.
- Assess long-term corrosion kinetics in confined and complex environments.
- Characterise and quantify the influence of microorganisms on the corrosion of storage materials (MIC — Microbially Influenced Corrosion).
- Provide real-time corrosion and environmental monitoring solutions within storage facilities.
- Contribute to national and international research programmes on the safety of radioactive waste storage.
Our services
- Tests in dedicated chambers reproducing deep storage conditions (clay, granite, pore water)
- In situ electrochemical monitoring of corrosion kinetics
- Assessment of the behaviour of metallic materials (steel, copper, alloys) and cementitious materials
- Assessment of microbially influenced corrosion (MIC), in partnership with Corrodys
- Real-time corrosion and environmental sensor solutions (corrosion potential, temperature, pH…) within storage infrastructure
- Participation in collaborative R&D programmes (national projects such as ANDRA)
Consultancy and technical expertise in material selection for nuclear applications
Ammonia (NH₃)
Context
Ammonia is attracting growing interest as a vector for transporting hydrogen in liquid form and as an alternative fuel for decarbonising maritime transport and power generation. Handling it, however, involves specific risks of stress corrosion cracking and material compatibility that call for rigorous assessment. Since 2024, the French Corrosion Institute has a dedicated facility in Saint-Étienne, designed with all the safety measures required for handling liquid and gaseous ammonia.
Our missions
- Assess the compatibility of materials with liquid and gaseous ammonia under conditions representative of industrial applications.
- Study the stress corrosion cracking mechanisms induced by ammonia.
- Support the qualification of materials and components for ammonia transport, storage and combustion chains.
- Develop bespoke tests for full-scale components.
Our services
- Liquid-phase exposures up to 40 bar (-40 °C to +70 °C)
- Gas-phase exposures under constant flow with varying composition (-20 °C to +70 °C)
- Batch autoclave tests up to 350 bar and 350 °C
- Slow strain rate and ripple-load tests up to 700 bar and -150 °C
- Permeation tests (metals, polymers, composites)
- High-temperature tests in a tube furnace for combustion atmospheres (up to 1,200 °C)
- Development of full-scale tests reproducing field conditions
- Consultancy, material selection and failure analysis
CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage)
Context
Carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technologies play a central role in industrial decarbonisation strategies. However, captured CO₂ may contain impurities — H₂S, SO₂, H₂O — which, combined with high-pressure conditions, create particularly corrosive environments for compression, transport and storage equipment materials. The French Corrosion Institute has the equipment needed to reproduce these environments and assess the resistance of metallic and polymer materials.
Our missions
- Assess the corrosion resistance of materials in pressurised CO₂ environments, pure or contaminated.
- Characterise the degradation mechanisms specific to CCUS conditions (dense, supercritical CO₂).
- Support the qualification of materials and coatings for capture, transport and storage infrastructure.
- Contribute to R&D programmes on the safety and durability of CCUS technologies.
Our services
- Immersion tests under gaseous, dense or supercritical CO₂
- Corrosivity assessment in the presence of impurities (H₂S, SO₂, H₂O, O₂)
- Electrochemistry under pressure (polarisation curves, EIS)
- Stress corrosion cracking assessment
- Coating and paint resistance tests in CO₂ environments
- Consultancy and material selection for CCUS applications
Low-temperature electrolysis
Context
The production of green hydrogen by low-temperature electrolysis — through PEM (proton exchange membrane) and AEM (anion exchange membrane) technologies — is at the heart of the industrial decarbonisation strategy. These technologies involve complex components — bipolar plates, porous transport layers, catalysts, membranes — subjected to severe electrochemical conditions that can lead to corrosion, dissolution and premature degradation. The French Corrosion Institute develops suitable evaluation methods to support electrolyser manufacturers in improving the durability of their systems.
Our missions
- Assess the corrosion behaviour of PEM and AEM electrolyser components.
- Develop non-platinum group metal (non-PGM) anticorrosion coatings and characterise their performance.
- Study the relationships between coating properties and interfacial contact resistance (ICR).
- Contribute to improving electrolyser durability through long-duration testing.
Our services
- Ex situ corrosion testing on electrolyser components: bipolar plates (BPP), porous transport layers (PTL), microporous layers (MPL), coatings, catalysts
- Long-duration tests (> 1,000 hours)
- Electrochemical characterisation: polarisation curves, EIS, interfacial contact resistance (ICR) measurement
- Development and evaluation of anticorrosion coatings by electrodeposition and other ambient-pressure techniques
- Consultancy on material selection and surface treatments for electrolyser components
Materials for Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzer Bipolar Plates (Lædre et al., NTNU & SINTEF)