Moniek Tromp to lead new X-ray research center with NWO grant of €15.8 million

A team led by Prof. Moniek Tromp of the Faculty of Science and Engineering (University of Groningen) has been awarded an NWO grant of 15.8 million euros to establish a new national research center. The center will enable materials to be studied at the atomic scale using X-rays, thereby facilitating the development of sustainable solutions for a circular society powered by renewable energy. Until now, the Netherlands has lacked an integrated infrastructure for laboratory-based X-ray characterization, a crucial link in fundamental and applied materials research.

The grant is provided through the Large-Scale Research Infrastructure (LSRI) programme of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Consortium partners are Utrecht University, Eindhoven University of Technology and Delft University of Technology.

Virtual centre with three university hubs

The centre operates as a virtual institute with hubs in Groningen, Utrecht and Eindhoven, offering researchers from the Netherlands and abroad access to advanced X-ray techniques. Materials such as batteries, solar cells, catalysts and coatings can be studied at different length scales and in terms of both surface area and volume. This enables researchers to design new, sustainable materials and processes in a more targeted manner, contributing to a circular and energy transition-driven future.

National and international knowledge sharing

The centre also offers training and knowledge sharing through technology-specific courses at the hubs and a biannual summer course on X-ray research into sustainable materials. In this way, the centre strengthens the Dutch X-ray research community and encourages collaboration with national and international research and industrial partners.