When storing hydrogen energy, hydrogen molecules may damage the structure of stainless steels in which it is stored. Polish physicist Elżbieta Gadalińska, who joined the HiLASE scientific research centre thanks to the MERIT fellowship of the Central Bohemian Innovation Center, studies how to extend the lifespan of storage materials using high-energy lasers.
What exactly do you focus on at HiLASE?
I study how we can use laser radiation—specifically laser shock peening (LSP)—to mitigate the phenomenon known as hydrogen embrittlement. In the future, we want to use hydrogen fuel in cars and airplanes, or use hydrogen as an energy storage medium. Hydrogen easily diffuses into materials, such as stainless or titanium steel, and causes dangerous cracks.
We therefore need a material that can withstand the effects of hydrogen—or we must develop a method that protects materials from hydrogen. LSP is effective for components undergoing cyclic loading or exposed to aggressive environments where corrosion cracking may occur. At HiLASE, we examine how exactly the material behaves after laser treatment.
Did you come to HiLASE specifically to develop this idea?
Yes, exactly. I previously worked in Poland, where this research was not possible. Another reason was that I wanted to broaden my horizons and conduct research at a world-class level. I’m a bit ambitious (laughs).
The project started only recently, in January 2025. We have set the experimental parameters—which was not easy—and we have completed the first experiments.
What are the advantages of LSP, and are there other ways to protect materials?
Yes, there are other options—for example, coating materials with a protective layer. But with the laser we directly modify the structure of the material. You can precisely target critical areas, and problems such as delamination do not occur.
Although this method is not widely used yet, the first attempts to introduce it into everyday practice already exist.
Your research compares two types of steel and observes how laser treatment affects them. What exactly do you compare?
The first material we study is 316 stainless steel, commonly used for hydrogen storage. The second is magnetic steel, which is more susceptible to hydrogen damage.
Using a wide range of tests and characterisation methods—from micro to macro scale—we aim to obtain data on their properties, such as phase transitions, phase composition, stress limits at different levels, texture data, etc.
We perform diffraction experiments and use scanning electron and transmission microscopy. The measured data is also crucial for practical applications—for example, strength tests and fatigue tests can provide very important information. If you don’t know how a material behaves after treatment, you cannot safely use it in practice. When you want to introduce a new method, you need broad experimental results to convince both the market and manufacturers.
Can all this be done using equipment at HiLASE?
Most of it, yes. For diffraction experiments, I would also like to use synchrotron and neutron radiation sources. These are available at places like the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France (the brightest synchrotron light source in the world), and the Diamond Light Source in the UK (the UK’s national synchrotron facility). But securing beamtime for experiments there is not easy. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
Do you cooperate with any other institutes in the Czech Republic?
Yes, with the Nuclear Research Institute Řež. In Řež, they characterise materials using scanning electron microscopy, and I hope they will also be able to perform fatigue tests. I would also like to carry out in-situ tests, where the tested material is saturated with hydrogen and we can observe what happens in real time.
I would also like to collaborate with Luleå University of Technology in Sweden.
What is the future of the LSP method?
I think it’s bright. A patent was published back in 2008, but no one has carried out the type of research I plan in my project. The patent’s authors describe only how material hardness changes after LSP exposure, but they did not conduct any follow-up experiments.
You came to the Czech Republic with your two children. What is it like to relocate your whole family to another country?
The move wasn’t easy—we needed some time to settle in—but now everything is set up and works well for us. For my daughters, it wasn’t an easy change. At first, they weren’t very happy—they had to leave their friends. But I tried to explain that this move is a good opportunity for them.
And although they don’t achieve top grades at school at the moment, they continue to develop and are happy here.
Some researchers complain that they must travel or even relocate with their family. But if you want to be successful in science, it is inevitable. To grow, you must change your environment and the people you work with. If you stay in one place and keep doing the same thing, you are not a researcher.
At HiLASE, I have access to new types of equipment, an excellent high-power laser, and interesting new colleagues. I can consult my ideas with a new team.
Can you compare the conditions for science in Poland and the Czech Republic?
In the Czech Republic, I see the same problem that we have in Poland—insufficient technology transfer. This also makes it difficult to obtain funding for research. So I don’t know where this will lead us as a Czech and European society.
What else do you appreciate at HiLASE besides the special high-power laser?
I am part of a great team where we support each other and bring ideas that we discuss a lot. This is very important to me—the team atmosphere matters more than the equipment.
Do you want to stay in the Czech Republic after your MERIT fellowship ends?
The MERIT fellowship lasts two and a half years, so it ends in mid-2027. I must also be a responsible parent—I would like my daughters to finish school here because they are happy in their schools now.
I will try to obtain funding, apply for a grant—maybe even a European one. I will do my best to prove my skills so that I deserve a longer-term position at HiLASE. But we will see what happens.
