The US Department of Energy is funding research related to improving the performance of nuclear fuel both under normal operation conditions and beyond design (accident) conditions. A wide variety of cladding materials were tested in high temperature water under normal operation conditions to determine their electrochemical behavior and in reactions with steam under accident conditions. Materials include zirconium alloys austenitic and ferritic alloys. A candidate material should be able to perform well under normal operation conditions and exceed the performance of zirconium alloys under accident scenarios.