Stainless steel alloys remain a research target because of lower production costs, as well as the need for an austenitic stainless steel with high-temperature corrosion resistance in environments with water vapor. Research focuses on increasing high-temperature tensile strength, toughness, and creep resistance to compete with Ni-based superalloys.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is researching austenitic alloys, achieving similar creep and corrosion resistance at 800 °C to that of other austenitic alloys, including Ni-based superalloys.