4/14/2026 Phillip Kisubika
Written by Phillip Kisubika
A research team from the Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering (NPRE) department in The Grainger College of Engineering has been selected for funding in a major push to make commercial fusion energy a reality.
The award comes from Helion, a Washington-based fusion energy company, which recently announced the first round of its 2026 Helion External Research Collaboration for Universities, Labs, and Enterprise Scientists (HERCULES) program. The initiative is supporting 25 proposals across 20 institutions in the United States and United Kingdom, bringing together leading universities, national laboratories, and private companies to tackle key challenges in fusion technology—from advanced materials to magnet systems and diagnostics.
The Illinois-led project, titled “Ceramic First-wall Materials and Tunable Composite Shielding,” is headed by associate professor Angela Di Fulvio. She is joined by NPRE research associate professor Daniel Andruczyk and Waltraud Kriven, Donald Biggar Willett Professor in Materials Science and Engineering.
“We propose to evaluate the feasibility of both hafnium carbide–based compounds as fusion first-wall materials, combining low electrical conductivity with improved thermal transport and resistance to plasma-induced degradation, and inorganic geopolymer composites as advanced shielding and structural materials with enhanced survivability under extreme radiation and high-temperature fusion environments,” Di Fulvio explained.
With more than $17 million committed through 2028, HERCULES-funded projects are aimed at solving some of fusion energy’s toughest engineering challenges—improving durability, efficiency, manufacturability, and cost-effectiveness for future commercial systems.
“The deployment of fusion electricity at scale requires innovation across many domains,” said Michael Hua, Senior Director of Nuclear Science at Helion. “Through HERCULES, we’re partnering with world-class researchers to solve some of the most demanding engineering challenges in energy. The more people and programs we have working on these problems, the faster we get to globally deployed fusion energy.”
Beyond advancing technology, the HERCULES program is also designed to strengthen collaboration between academia and industry, while giving students and researchers hands-on opportunities to contribute to the future of clean, scalable energy.