Launch of the TRIDEN project – Tribology for low-carbon energies (Nov. 2023 – Oct. 2026)
Launch of the TRIDEN project
Today’s climate challenges require all industrial players to widely adopt low-carbon energy sources and maximize the energy efficiency of their products and systems. This contribution to reducing the environmental impact of products and processes is particularly crucial in the mobility and energy production sectors. More broadly, it calls for rethinking and/or integrating new concepts into industrial practices — and exploring, or re-exploring, areas that have so far been underdeveloped at this scale. This includes, for example, the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier or the development of small or medium-sized nuclear reactors (SMR).
These emerging concepts and challenges in the low-carbon energy field raise new demands for the tribological performance of mechanical systems: operation under high pressures or in reducing or ionizing atmospheres, modified or absent lubrication, and material degradation (especially in the presence of hydrogen). As a result, surface materials and their properties must evolve toward a multifunctional dimension to ensure higher efficiency and durability of these systems: wear reduction, low friction coefficient, corrosion protection, hydrogen barrier properties, and more.
The TRIDEN research and development project, led by IREIS, aims to develop the scientific and technical knowledge needed to support the deployment of these environmentally friendly energy sources.
The targeted applications include hydrogen-powered combustion engines (storage and distribution systems, injection components, combustion chambers, etc.) and cooling circuit components in nuclear power plants (valves, etc.).
This project is co-funded by the French government under the France 2030 initiative and by the European Union – Next Generation EU as part of the France Relance recovery plan.