The 20th edition of the International Conference on Fusion Reactor Materials (ICFRM-20) will be held online on 25-29th October 2021. This meeting is organized by the Centro de Investigaciones, Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Madrid, Spain, in collaboration with the University of Granada.

The ICFRM, which is organized every two years, is the main forum where the world’s leading experts in the study, development and qualification of materials for fusion energy meet. It provides a unique opportunity for scientists, academics, engineers and industry representatives from all over the world to gain knowledge and exchange experience, while making new contacts.

Traditionally, the conference is concentrated mainly on promoting scientific discussion on structural materials and radiation damage modelling. This edition, however, is enlarged towards functional materials and their associated technologies. A session on facilities for materials characterization in fusion reactor-like environments is also covered. This new approach seems to have attracted interest with more than 450 abstracts received.

The ICFRM-20 scientific programme includes oral sessions with speakers of the highest prestige and poster sessions, suitably distributed to facilitate the attendance of participants living in the Asian and American time zones. As this event will run on a digital platform, traditional posters have been replaced by short presentations. The pre-recorded contributions from both oral and poster presentations will be available on the digital platform along the whole week. The allocated sessions will be dedicated exclusively to live interaction between participants and speakers.

All information on the ICFRM-20, including the scientific programme, is available at https://www.icfrm-20.com/index.

The conference is sponsored by the IFMIF-DONES consortium, the facility under development that will host the neutron source to test and qualify materials under conditions similar to those in future fusion power plants, and Empresarios Agrupados.

The inaugural session of the conference on Monday will be attended by the Regional Minister for Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities of the Andalusian Regional Government, Mr. Rogelio Velasco, the Secretary General for Research of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, Ms. Raquel Yotti, the Director of CIEMAT, Mr. Carlos Alejaldre, and the General Chair, Mr. Angel Ibarra. This session will include an invited talk by the Deputy Director General of the European Commission, Mr. Massimo Garribba.

ICFRM-20, which, for well-known reasons, is being held online this year, is a global and inclusive forum, open to debate on the development and engineering of materials for fusion and related technologies.