From 29 September to 2 October 2026, the CONNECT-NM community gathered at Fraunhofer IZFP in Saarbrücken, Germany, for four days of exchange, collaboration and discussion on nuclear materials research in Europe. The Joint Nuclear Materials Event brought together the CONNECT-NM consortium, the EERA Joint Programme on Nuclear Materials (JPNM) and the Young Researchers Network (YRN).
Taking stock of progress across CONNECT-NM
The first two days provided an opportunity for the CONNECT-NM community to exchange on progress across the Partnership’s five Research Lines, covering knowledge and data management, advanced materials development and manufacturing, materials and component qualification, non-destructive examination and materials health monitoring, and advanced materials modelling and characterisation.
Alongside updates from the different projects, participants discussed the wider activities supporting the Partnership, including communication, dissemination and result exploitation, as well as education, training, mobility and access to infrastructures. Members of the Young Researchers Network joined the programme on the second day, creating further opportunities for exchange between researchers at different career stages.
Connecting expertise across the European nuclear materials community
On 1 October, the programme expanded to bring together CONNECT-NM, EERA JPNM and the Young Researchers Network. Following the CONNECT-NM General Assembly and a visit to Fraunhofer IZFP, participants came together for a joint session on EERA JPNM and CONNECT-NM.
A key focus of the afternoon was the joint CONNECT-NM and EERA JPNM workshop on nuclear materials research infrastructures and access schemes. Experts presented a range of European materials testing reactors, irradiation facilities and other research infrastructures, opening discussions on the facilities and access mechanisms available to support nuclear materials research across Europe.
Supporting the next generation of researchers
Young researchers were an integral part of the event. In addition to participating in joint sessions with the wider nuclear materials community, the Young Researchers Network held dedicated activities, including a YRN session and a social programme on the final day.
Bringing these communities together in Saarbrücken provided an important opportunity to share progress, strengthen connections across projects and organisations, and continue building a collaborative European research community around nuclear materials.