Ernst Ruska-Centre 2.0
The National Research Infrastructure for Ultra-High Resolution Electron Microscopy
Today, material innovations are seen as the most important technology drivers, and material design – down to details at the atomic/molecular level – ensures an essential developmental advantage. The ER-C 2.0 project aims to strategically expand the infrastructure of the Ernst Ruska Centre at Forschungszentrum Jülich and create characterisation possibilities that are unique worldwide.
Collaboration with the Ernst Ruska Centre is intended to create key incentives for companies working with innovative materials and technologies to relocate to the Rhineland. Of particular importance here are the energy sector with materials for energy storage and conversion, information technology with materials for quantum information and new storage and processor technologies, and also the medical and pharmaceutical sector with new technologies and medicines. The Rhineland is thus set to become the most attractive region in Germany in terms of its unique advantages for the establishment of new materials technologies in these sectors.
Whether new materials for energy conversion and storage, or new drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, the key to rapid development lies in understanding elementary functions at the atomic or molecular level. The realization of ER-C 2.0 offers a unique opportunity to build a world-class flagship infrastructure, from which partners in these areas from both industry and academia can benefit directly in equal measure. This also distinguishes ER-C 2.0 from existing academic facilities where the infrastructure is based on instruments that are already commercially available. The uniqueness of the instruments and their scientifically highly advanced characteristics will also attract significant attention on an international scale and draw attention to the Rhineland area.
The planned expansion of the ER-C 2.0 will create an infrastructure that can initiate and support the accelerated and sustainable development of new materials as well as innovations and solutions to global challenges, especially in the local environment. As well as strengthening the current focus on hard matter and materials physics, research in the field of soft matter and life sciences will be consistently expanded. Open access to innovative instruments at a central location, the broad interdisciplinary range of applications and close cooperation with leading international instrument manufacturers offer a unique global positioning.
The infrastructure development at ER-C 2.0, the resulting competences and the support of innovations in terms of new materials and technologies create an attractive environment for the establishment of companies, and will result in spin-offs in the hardware and software sector, making ER-C 2.0 a structurally effective project in the Rhineland.
New Roadmap for Research Infrastructures Announced
Large-scale project proposed by Forschungszentrum Jülich selected for roadmap