Gas turbines have an important role to play as we increasingly turn to renewable forms of energy production. Their ability to start and stop operation quickly means they can be used to address volatility in renewable energy supply.  However, frequent starts and stops as well as load changes can result in thermally induced low cycle fatigue loads on gas turbine components made of Ni-based alloys. This can have a more critical effect on component longevity than creep loads. To improve component design, the fatigue behaviour of turbine materials has to be fundamentally understood. The fatigue behaviour of Ni-based alloys is strongly influenced by their intrinsic elastic anisotropy, which affects the stress and strain distribution in the material. This project, therefore, aims to provide a fundamental understanding of the influence of local anisotropies on elastic and plastic deformation behaviour as well as initial fatigue damage in polycrystalline Ni-based alloys by combining in situ deformation experiments, image analysis and FEM simulations.