Francesco Maresca leads University of Groningen’s role in €7M NWO Perspectief project on hydrogen-resistant recycled steel

A groundbreaking NWO Perspectief programme will invest millions in technological innovation to address a critical challenge in the hydrogen economy: hydrogen embrittlement in recycled steel. The CIRHY project (Circularity as Opportunity: Engineering Hydrogen-Resistant Circular Steels) is one of twelve Perspectief projects selected by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) for its potential to drive sustainable innovation. With a total budget of €7 million, the project aims to develop guidelines for producing stronger, more reliable recycled steel by leveraging advanced computational models and experimental research.

Francesco Maresca: advancing multi-scale modeling
Prof. Francesco Maresca, Associate Professor at the Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG), will serve as Work Package Leader for atomic- to micro-scale modelling within the consortium. His research group at RUG will receive more than €1 million in funding, enabling the appointment of three PhD candidates dedicated to studying the microscopic interactions between hydrogen and defects in steels.

“This project is a game-changer for sustainable materials science,” says Maresca. “By combining atomic-scale simulations with micromechanical modelling, we will explore how impurities could help mitigating hydrogen embrittlement in new ‘green steel’ compositions. Our goal is to make recycled steel a viable, high-performance material for hydrogen infrastructure, reducing reliance on virgin steels.”

Maresca’s team will collaborate closely with Prof. Erik van der Giessen (Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, RUG) and industry partners such as Tata Steel and SKF, bridging the gap between fundamental science and industrial application.

A consortium for impact
The CIRHY project unites four Dutch universities (RUG, TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, University of Twente), KU Leuven and the Max-Planck-Institut for Sustainable Materials, alongside 10 industry partners: Ako Precision Solutions Inc, Allseas, Ansys, BmS, NLR, NRG, ProRail, SKF, Tata Steel, M2i. The programme is led by Dr. Poulumi Dey (TU Delft) and includes 12 PhDs, 1 postdoc, and 2 PDEng researchers across the consortium.

Why it matters
Hydrogen is a cornerstone of the energy transition, but its interaction with steel poses a major technical hurdle. The CIRHY project’s findings will directly support the Dutch and European Green Deal objectives, accelerating the adoption of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier while promoting circular material use.

About Perspectief
The NWO Perspectief programme funds ambitious, multidisciplinary research with strong industry collaboration, addressing societal challenges. The 2025 cohort focuses on technological innovation for sustainability, with each project receiving up to €5 million in NWO funding, supplemented by industry contributions. More information