A very special new research building
With the help of next-generation electron microscopes, a globally unique infrastructure for the characterization of materials is to be created in the “Ernst Ruska-Centrum 2.0” in the middle of the Rhenish mining area. The national competence center for ultrahigh-resolution electron microscopy is also intended to create outstanding opportunities for the accelerated and sustainable development of new materials in the local environment for companies willing to locate here. In the presence of State Secretary Judith Pirscher from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and Ina Brandes, Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Forschungszentrum Jülich celebrated the topping-out ceremony for the new building on May 11, 2023 as a milestone on the way to this research infrastructure. (Source: Forschungszentrum Jülich – Presse releases)
Whether innovative materials for the energy transition and for future information technologies or new drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, the key to rapid development lies in understanding elementary functions at the atomic and molecular level. The high-resolution electron microscopes of the Ernst Ruska Center at Forschungszentrum Jülich already provide precise insights into atomic structures and will be further expanded in the “ER-C 2.0” project. The consistent further development and expansion of electron-optical methods and instruments corresponds to the increasing demand for atomic-resolution characterization that exists today in many fields of knowledge. At the same time, ER-C 2.0 is intended to contribute to securing Germany’s leading position in these fields in the long term.
To this end, a building costing around 23 million euros is being constructed on the Jülich campus for six new high-performance electron microscopes with very special requirements. For example, the foundation must be 150 cm thick in places and decoupled from the surroundings because the slightest vibrations, for example from passing trucks, could falsify the measurement results. With an area of almost 10,000 square meters, the ER-C 2.0 will be more than twice as large as the previous building. Here, the new instruments with very different specifications aim to achieve the highest possible spectroscopic, temporal and spatial resolution in combination with correlative investigation capabilities. With the combination of instruments and correlative techniques, ER-C 2.0 will provide new opportunities for the characterization of soft and biological materials, in addition to further developments of ER-C’s existing focus on inorganic materials.
Importance for structural change
In addition to academic research, companies will also benefit from the use of ER-C 2.0, for example from energy and information technologies as well as from the medical and pharmaceutical sectors. With its high-performance equipment in one place, ER-C 2.0 will give these companies the unique opportunity to develop materials for new memories and processors, for example in the field of quantum technology, or new materials and medicines – and thus a decisive incentive to settle in the Rhineland region. The planned user facility is based on the existing Ernst Ruska Center for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C) at Forschungszentrum Jülich and is being built together with RWTH Aachen University, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and other associated cooperation partners.
Comments on the topping-out ceremony
Judith Pirscher, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF):
“From the in-depth look into the smallest details, we expect to make great discoveries in materials research and beyond. The ER-C 2.0 implements a project of the National Roadmap for Research Infrastructures that the German Council of Science and Humanities has rated as outstanding. For the building and in particular the six high-performance electron microscopes, the federal government is therefore providing funding of around 100 million euros.”
Ina Brandes, Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia:
“The smallest details can be the trigger for the greatest innovations! Materials research in Jülich will help us to master the challenges of our time. I am sure that the development of new medicines, smart chips and powerful batteries can make people’s lives better. Thus, at Forschungszentrum Jülich, looking into the microscope becomes looking into the future. The business and science location in the Rhenish Revier region in particular will benefit from this project.”
Prof. Wolfgang Marquard, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich:
“The ER-C 2.0 research infrastructure will create a globally visible beacon of interest to science and industry. It will become a real locational advantage for the Rhenish Mining District in its bid to attract innovative companies of the most diverse orientation. After all, new material innovations are the basis of new value creation.”
FZJ/E. Zeiss, 11.05.2023
The original press release can be found at:
Ein ganz besonderer Forschungsneubau (only in german)
Localization in the Helmholtz Research Field Information:
Helmholtz-Forschungsbereich Information, Programm 3: Materials Systems Engineering Processing, Topic 5: Materials Information Discovery
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Rafal Dunin-Borkowski
Physics of Nanoscale Systems (ER-C-1) / Microstructure Research (PGI-5)Forschungszentrum Jülich
Phone: +49 2461/61-9297
E-Mail: r.dunin-borkowski@fz-juelich.de
Prof. Dr. Joachim Mayer
Materials Science and Technology (ER-C-2)
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Phone: +49 2461/61-6070
E-Mail: j.mayer@fz-juelich.de
Prof. Dr. Carsten Sachse
Structural Biology (ER-C-3)
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Phone: +49 2461/61-2030
E-Mail: c.sachse@fz-juelich.de
Contact for this press release:
Erhard Zeiss
Press Officer
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Phone: +49 2461 61-1841
E-Mail: e.zeiss@fz-juelich.de
