We are excited to welcome our new AconityMINI LPBF system to the MP2G –at the University of Patras. The system is now installed and commissioned, opening new possibilities for advanced research in metal additive manufacturing, microstructure control and materials performance.

The MP2G participated in AAMS 2026, held in Cambridge, UK, presenting our recent research on additive manufacturing, dislocation-cell structures and their role in hydrogen embrittlement of additively manufactured metallic materials. We are also delighted to announce that the next edition, AAMS 2027, will come to Thessaloniki, Greece! MP2G, together with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, will host the conference in September 2027. We look forward to welcoming the AAMS community to Greece!

Members of the Materials Processing and Performance Group (MP2G) recently visited the Institute of Physics of Materials (IPM), Czech Academy of Sciences, in Brno, strengthening the long-standing collaboration between the two research groups. The visit included experimental work using IPM’s advanced electron microscopy facilities, scientific discussions on ongoing and future joint research and a lecture by Assistant Professor Efthymios Polatidis presenting recent MP2G activities. The collaboration continues with Iris Palaiologoulou undertaking a one-month research stay at IPM for further SEM investigations, supporting knowledge exchange and the development of new joint research activities. We sincerely thank Miroslav Šmíd, Michal Jambor, and our colleagues at IPM for their warm hospitality and continued collaboration.

Materials processing focuses on transforming raw materials into high-performance components through the precise control of manufacturing processes. By tailoring processing conditions globally or locally, it enables the engineering of microstructures, phase distributions, grain morphology, crystallographic texture, residual stresses and defect populations that ultimately determine a material’s mechanical and functional performance. Our research combines advanced manufacturing technologies, including additive manufacturing, thermomechanical processing, welding and heat treatments, with state-of-the-art characterization, computational modelling and data-driven approaches to establish process–structure–property relationships. This knowledge enables the design of next-generation materials with spatially tailored properties for demanding applications in aerospace, energy, transportation and healthcare.

Our team completed a successful experimental campaign at the P21.2 beamline of PETRA III (DESY) within the framework of the HYPE-AM project. By combining in situ electrochemical hydrogen charging, mechanical loading, and high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction, we investigate how hydrogen interacts with advanced alloys under realistic service conditions. Continuous hydrogen charging during deformation enables us to monitor, in real time, the evolution of lattice strains, phase transformations, dislocation structures and load partitioning, providing unique insight into the mechanisms governing hydrogen embrittlement. Developing experimental platforms that integrate electrochemistry and mechanical testing within the synchrotron environment is challenging, but it opens new opportunities to directly observe degradation processes as they occur.