Sustainable research at micro and nano X-ray beamlines

Project Information

STREAMLINE

Grant agreement ID: 870313

DOI

10.3030/870313

Project closed

EC signature date 20 November 2019

Start date 15 November 2019

End date 14 May 2024

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Research Infrastructures

Total cost

€ 4 997 462,50

EU contribution

€ 4 997 462,50

Coordinated by

EUROPEAN SYNCHROTRON RADIATION FACILITY
France

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - STREAMLINE (Sustainable research at micro and nano X-ray beamlines)

Reporting period: 2022-11-15 to 2024-05-14

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

STREAMLINE aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in the context of its recent upgrade that makes it the first in a new generation of synchrotrons. The ESRF is a user-based research infrastructure, serving more than 7,000 researchers annually. The ESRF’s Extremely Brilliant Source (ESRF-EBS) is a 2018 ESFRI Roadmap Landmark and its inclusion was reiterated in the 2021 roadmap (https://roadmap2021.esfri.eu) recognising the strategic importance of the ESRF’s pioneering new-generation synchrotron ring. The ESRF-EBS began user operation in 2020 delivering a revolutionary new fourth-generation synchrotron, to which three new state-of-the-art X-ray beamlines have been added. Thanks to an initial x100 beam brilliance enhancement and x50 in coherence, with particularly strong impact for micro- and nano-beams, ESRF-EBS enables novel experimental capabilities across basic, applied and industrial science on all of ESRF’s 44 X-ray beamlines, addressing major societal challenges.
The full exploitation of the ESRF-EBS poses new long-term sustainability challenges arising from the exploitation of its unprecedented X-ray beams. There will be more users, more samples and more data through faster and wholly new experiments, and new services could be created. STREAMLINE has made key updates to the facility’s scientific strategy, helped it to renew its business plan and expand its access modes, through a new access service package, to capitalise rapidly on the new scientific opportunities and increased experimental capacities at the beamlines. Benefits will be felt by both academia and industry. Support and training of user communities, existing, emerging and new, to encourage use of the new opportunities is an essential part of STREAMLINE. This has allowed the ESRF to become rapidly the first operational demonstrator of a fourth-generation synchrotron. The results of STREAMLINE were shared with European light sources through the LEAPS consortium, many of which plan EBS-type upgrades following the ESRF.
STREAMLINE will increase the sustainability of the ESRF itself and aid the European light source community in their rapid exploitation of EBS-type upgrades.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

STREAMLINE has reviewed and redefined the ESRF-EBS science case and aligned the science & innovation programme with the main societal challenges to properly respond to the needs of the ESRF user community. Five cross-cutting science reviews were used to identify opportunities to develop new services to make use of the new capabilities and increased capacity of the ESRF-EBS. These reviews also identified new or emerging user communities. STREAMLINE has reached out to those communities through presence at conferences and brought communities to the ESRF for workshops and training. STREAMLINE workshops provided a forum for discussion between new communities and expert users of the facility.
STREAMLINE has developed software for analysis of scientific publications linked to users experiments. This software, PUMA, has been used to study KPIs associated with the operation of a user facility and to establish a database of Common Beamline Indicators (CBIs) which is now routinely used as a tool to monitor the evolution of science areas per beamline and ESRF partner country.
STREAMLINE identified efficient ways to make better use of beamtime. New user access modes have been developed. Community access modes permit groups of users to request regular access to instrumentation for shared beamtime. In this way, a particular setup is used for multiple experiments in succession with an immediate gain in efficiency. Pilot access for three community groups has also revealed that the group sessions are the ideal setting to train young researchers, and the community also motivated it members in their research. The communities can decide to work together on a common societal challenge, combining efforts to advance research together. The community access modes have been launched to users and four proposals have been accepted. Two additional user access modes are still at the pilot stage: fast access and coordinated access.
STREAMLINE has given the user portal a massive boost permitting remote access experiments combined with mail in of samples. This involved development of a LIMS (laboratory information management system) for sample tracking, which in particular permits users to programme their experimental setting in advance for each sample.
The ESRF Workflows System (EWOKS) was developed by STREAMLINE to automate data processing on beamlines. It is now installed and operational at over 50% of the ESRF beamlines.
STREAMLINE has tested the application of artificial intelligence to 1D data sets from multiple beamlines. Three tools were developed that permit a much faster (online) identification of phases during mapping experiments, and can also greatly help accelerate quantitative data analysis.
Two innovative high-throughput synchrotron services for XRD (X-ray Diffraction) and XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) were built by STREAMLINE. These newly-established routine services deliver high-quality data with acquisition speeds that are three orders of magnitude faster than those currently achievable in laboratory settings. The services are now in routine use by the initial co-design partners and have also been tested by other companies in the mining and chemicals industries.
An extensive outreach campaign sent ESRF ambassadors across Europe to participate in more than 100 events to promote the ESRF-EBS and the services developed within STREAMLINE.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

STREAMLINE contributed significantly towards the development of the new ESRF User Portal (NEXT UP) and a laboratory information management system (LIMS). These developments permitted rapid deployment of mail-in/remote access to all ESRF public beamlines during the critical Covid-19 pandemic period where the only way for the ESRF to continue functioning as a user facility was through mail-in and remote access. Today, these developments are routinely used by users with around 30% of experiments carried out by remote access.
STREAMLINE developed community access proposals, a new access mode that allows users to group together to share beamtime.
Two innovative high-throughput synchrotron services for XRD (X-ray Diffraction) and XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) were built by STREAMLINE. These newly-established routine services deliver high-quality data with acquisition speeds that are three orders of magnitude faster than those currently achievable in laboratory settings. The services are now in routine use by the initial co-design partners and have also been tested by other companies in the mining and chemicals industries.
The ESRF Workflows System (EWOKS) was developed by STREAMLINE to automate data processing on beamlines. It is now installed and operational at over 50% of the ESRF beamlines.
STREAMLINE studied the socio-economic impact of the ESRF and produced a report on The Socio-economic Impact Assessment for Light Sources, which was shared with other European research infrastructure through a workshop.

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