Electron and X-ray microscopy Community for structural and chemical Imaging Techniques for Earth materials

Projektinformationen

EXCITE

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 101005611

DOI

10.3030/101005611

Projekt abgeschlossen

EK-Unterschriftsdatum 11 März 2021

Startdatum 1 Mai 2021

Enddatum 30 April 2024

Finanziert unter

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Research Infrastructures

Gesamtkosten

€ 4 999 635,50

EU-Beitrag

€ 4 999 635,50

Koordiniert durch

UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EXCITE (Electron and X-ray microscopy Community for structural and chemical Imaging Techniques for Earth materials)

Berichtszeitraum: 2022-11-01 bis 2024-04-30

Zusammenfassung vom Kontext und den Gesamtzielen des Projekts

Understanding earth materials is critical to creating a sustainable, carbon-neutral society due to their involvement in many vital processes. For example, earth materials control subsurface energy storage and extraction feasibility and are a source of critical elements. However, perturbations to geological systems can also result in hazards, such as human-induced earthquakes. Therefore, we urgently need to make multi-scale, multi-dimensional characterisations of earth materials available to a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines to tackle these pressing sustainable development questions. In addition to the societal relevant topics, the properties of earth materials determine how the Earth works on the most fundamental level. The EXCITE Network has united 15 European electron and X-ray microscopy facilities to overcome this challenge. The project enables access to high-end microscopy facilities and joins the knowledge and experience from the different institutions.

Arbeit, die ab Beginn des Projekts bis zum Ende des durch den Bericht erfassten Berichtszeitraums geleistet wurde, und die wichtigsten bis dahin erzielten Ergebnisse

The initial goal of the EXCITE Network was to build access management infrastructures to microscopy facilities and build a community of users. Hence, the network has invested much effort to establish infrastructure access processes and brand EXCITE using online media tools. A webpage was developed, social media channels were established, and workshops were held to promote EXCITE to a broad academic and industrial network. Moreover, EXCITE sought personal contact with users by presenting at conferences with interactive booths.

Once EXCITE was established as a starting community, the focus was on promoting transnational access to the facilities and forward joint research projects aiming to further the user experience and abilities during and post-access research. As such, more than 160 projects have already been granted access to the EXCITE facilities during two rounds of calls performing leading-edge science addressing questions from the origin of our solar system to the storage of hydrogen in the subsurface.

Joint research projects have focused on multi-scale imaging problems and incorporating machine-learning approaches into everyday research and development. The results of the joint research projects have already been communicated to a broad audience using various communication channels, from scientific conferences and publications to social media and industrial meetings.

Fortschritte, die über den aktuellen Stand der Technik hinausgehen und voraussichtliche potenzielle Auswirkungen (einschließlich der bis dato erzielten sozioökonomischen Auswirkungen und weiter gefassten gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen des Projekts)

Progress beyond state-of-the-art has been made in several instances. On the one hand, scientific results obtained by facility users commonly have gone beyond the state of the art, answering critical scientific questions concerning the behavior of earth materials. On the other hand, joint research projects within the immediate EXCITE Network, such as developing machine-learning algorithms to analyse chemical data obtained via electron microscopy, have pushed the facilities' capabilities beyond the state of the art. Moreover, the establishment of virtual computing infrastructures for post-facility access research is beyond state of the art enabling users to continue with their research back at their host institutions. We anticipate that the EXCITE Network will provide continuous access to users wanting to address key geoscientific questions of both societal and fundamental relevance. As such, the EXCITE Network has established itself as a cornerstone of European and global geoscience, shaping today's research for a better sustainable future.

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