In advance of World Corrosion Awareness Day on 24th April, the ICorr Midlands Branch jointly hosted the Cambridge Corrosion Conference 2026 with the European Federation of Corrosion (EFC) Working Party 15 and CorrosionRadar on 21–22 April 2026 in Cambridge, UK.
The two-day conference attracted delegates from across the UK and Europe and provided an excellent platform for discussion between industry and academia on current and emerging corrosion challenges.The conference was opened by ICorr President Dr Yunnan Gao and Dr Prafull Sharma, Immediate Past Chair of the ICorr Midlands Branch. Dr Gao also presented an overview of ICorr activities and achievements during 2025–2026.
The technical programme focused on digital monitoring, artificial intelligence (AI), corrosion under insulation (CUI), inspection technologies and corrosion challenges linked to energy transition systems. The event included presentations from major organisations including Cenosco, Emerson, Inductosense, Dow, Worley, Becht, Eddyfi Technologies, Moeve and Linde Engineering.
The opening keynote, “Future of Corrosion Engineering with AI”, was delivered by Dr Chiraz Ennaceur, CEO of CorrosionRADAR. The presentation explored how digital technologies and AI are influencing future corrosion management practices, while also highlighting the continued importance of engineering expertise, reliable data and human oversight.
Several presentations focused on AI applications and digital inspection systems. Rowan Vaduganathan of Cenosco presented “Integrating Machine Vision and AI into Risk Based Inspection Workflows”, while Stefano Cuomo from Inductosense discussed “From Inspection to Prediction: Redefining Corrosion Monitoring with Online Sensors and Hybrid Models”. Gerrit Buchheim of Becht delivered two presentations on “Machine Learning for Complex HF Alky Corrosion” and “CML Optimisation.” Philipp Schempp from the Technical University Cologne also presented on “Corrosion Prediction with Machine Learning.”
Corrosion monitoring and CUI management formed another major theme throughout the conference. William Fazackerley of Emerson presented “New Novel Area Monitoring Solution for Localised Damage,” and Ogbonnaya Agwu of Dow discussed “CUI Monitoring at a Petrochemical Plant”. Theo Knijff from Kai-Con presented recommendations for implementing CUI monitoring strategies, while Kus Slawomir of Corrology Innovations discussed thermal and visual image data analysis for targeted CUI inspection planning.
The conference also addressed corrosion challenges associated with renewable and low-carbon energy systems. Dr Hosseini from London Petrotech delivered a keynote presentation on “Corrosion Integrity Challenges in Floating Offshore Wind.” Florian Hairer from Linde Engineering presented “Hydrogen: HEE and Standardisation – Status and Outlook”, highlighting material and integrity challenges linked to hydrogen systems.
Other technical highlights included presentations on UT corrosion monitoring by Xavier De Schepper of Eddyfi Technologies, microwave inspection of non-metallic tanks and piping by Alessandro Demma of Omnia Integrity, and refinery corrosion case studies presented by Martin Vosecky of Nalco Water and Pedro Rangel of Moeve.
The event concluded with a series of open discussions covering topics such as AI for corrosion rate prediction, refinery corrosion mitigation, corrosion education and the future of inspection technologies. Delegates also participated in networking activities and an industrial tour of CorrosionRADAR facilities.
Overall, the Cambridge Corrosion Conference 2026 successfully highlighted the growing role of digitalisation, AI and advanced monitoring technologies in corrosion engineering. The conference demonstrated the importance of collaboration between researchers, technology providers and industry in developing safer, more reliable and sustainable asset integrity solutions for the future.
Photo 2: Day 2, keynote by Dr Mohammad Hosseini (MD, London Petrotech) on Corrosion Integrity Challenges in Floating Offshore Wind.
