KFS & Hi-Acts Synchrotron Transfer Workshop: A Dialogue Between Industry and Research

The Synchrotron Transfer Workshop - a dialogue between industry and research centers, was organized by the (Committee Research with Synchrotron Radiation) and Hi-Acts (Helmholtz Innovation Platform for Accelerator-based Technologies and Solutions) on the DESY Campus from 8 to 9 October 2024. The aim of the workshop was to strengthen cooperation between industrial and academic users of the large-scale facilities, suppliers and the research centers. The workshop, which was also attended by various international guests, offered a variety of opportunities for exchange and networking, including during the breaks and at the evening dinner - thanks for the financial support from the BMBF and DECTRIS. The KFS had already organized a similar event in 2022. This dialog was now to be continued in cooperation with Hi-Acts.

Day 1.

In the first session, "Synchrotron radiation and its industrial relevance: Current trends and future prospects", Dr. Antje Vollmer from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) gave an overview and emphasized the enormous importance of synchrotron radiation for addressing the major challenges facing our global society. Topics included climate change, the provision of sufficient green energy and the expansion of international cooperation with Africa. Dr. Michael Kolbe from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) explained the background to the long-established and good cooperation with a steadily growing number of industrial partners. The comparatively high degree of maturity with regard to standardized measurements is particularly noteworthy. Dr. Harald Reichert from DESY presented the planning status for PETRA IV and emphasized that collaboration with industry is a central aspect of the upgrade
to PETRA IV. He explained how structural adjustments will further facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration in the future: for example, by grouping complementary beamlines in so-called "villages" on key topics such as energy, catalysis or structural biology. In particular, he emphasized that industry users and non-experts are expressly welcome and that various access options for these user groups are constantly being optimized.

The second session, "Efficient use of synchrotrons with the help of intermediaries", began with a presentation by Bernhard Hesse from Xploraytion. He highlighted the remaining challenges faced by industrial users in accessing synchrotron radiation sources and explained the importance of targeted funding measures and complementary collaborations. Dr. Peter Gaal from TXproducts underlined the importance of standardization and reproducibility of measurements for industrial users in his contribution. Nicolai Zangenberg from the Danish Technological Institute (DTI) presented the comprehensive customer support from the first inquiry to the final report and explained the creation of complete solutions involving complementary laboratory and synchrotron methods. Dr. Paul Harten from HZB, representing Hi-Acts, presented the Connect concept. As a single-entry point for a total of five Helmholtz research centers, Hi-Acts Connect is intended to facilitate access to accelerator facilities, especially for industrial customers without experience in this field. The subsequent discussion emphasized the importance of communication and collaboration between users from science, industry and the large-scale research facilities. This includes informing industrial companies about the possibilities that synchrotron methods and intermediaries offer for solving their problems. It was also emphasized that funding is particularly important for initiating research collaborations. Another topic of discussion was data management and the associated challenges and efforts for all parties involved.

The third session, "ErUM-Transfer: Building bridges between research and practice", was opened by Dr. Martin Uhlig from PT DESY, who gave an overview of ErUM-Transfer and the selection of ongoing pilot projects. Dr. Charlotte Debus from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) presented the "Himalaya" project and emphasized the importance of AI for data evaluation and data management. Dr. Martin Etter from DESY presented "MEDESES", a project to develop a high-throughput process for powder diffraction. Based on standardized samples and a higher throughput, individual measurements can be carried out more cheaply and efficiently. This offers great potential for industrial users from a wide range of sectors. In the following discussion, the ErUM-Transfer format was expressly praised and its continuation as a new and successful funding format was unanimously supported.

Day 2.

The second day of the event started with the fourth session, "Strengthening partnership and cooperation". Here, Dr. Bridget Murphy from Kiel University (CAU) emphasized that the FAIR principle (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) not only leads to better science, but also benefits industry. She emphasized that research institutions and experienced users are constantly working on standardized procedures for data management and data evaluation. Nicola Villacorta from the Helmholtz Association gave a status report on the planned calls for proposals to fund Transfer Infrastructures (TI) from 2028. Dr. Kristjan Põder from DESY presented one of the Hi-Acts Technology Labs. He explained how industry can participate and contribute to the development of the latest accelerator technologies, in this case compact laser plasma accelerators, at a low-threshold early stage. Prof. Birgit Kanngießer from the Technical University of Berlin spoke about the importance of making it easier for students to exchange ideas with industry and thus enabling a bilateral exchange between industry and science right from the start. She also highlighted the opportunities offered by endowed professorships, which are funded by industry and make a major contribution to the development of methods and technology. Dr. Jörg Freudenberger from Siemens Healthineers emphasized the importance of technology transfer from the perspective of an employee in the research and development department of a large established industrial company. He emphasized the need for both "push" and "pull" innovations and that the wishes and needs of the various stakeholders are taken into account in industrial research.

In the fifth session, "Shaping partnership and exchange", existing barriers and possible improvements for collaboration between industry and research were discussed in various mixed working groups. The discussions covered topics such as timeframes, funding and promotion, intellectual property and patent rights, contracts, standardization, data management and data analysis as well as training and knowledge transfer. 

Promoting cooperation between industry and science

The event showed that cooperation between industry and science in the use of synchrotron radiation is of great importance and that there is great potential for further developments. The continuation of the ErUM-Transfer program and the improvement of accessibility for industrial users were identified as important steps for the future. Equally, the standardization of measurements and processes is an important aspect to ensure the necessary comparability and reproducibility of results. Overall, the workshop was an important step in promoting cooperation between industry and science in the use of synchrotron radiation.