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Seawater: The next sustainable battery revolution

2026/06/032026/06/04

International team shows that with minor modifications chloride is effective electrode material for solid-state batteries

Seawater covers most of the globe and makes up around 97 per cent of all water on Earth. It could also hold the key to cheaper and greener batteries for storing green energy collected from wind turbines and solar cells.

Using the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan, an international research team involving scientists from Switzerland, Canada, and the United States, has shown that with some minor modifications, chloride – a sustainable and readily available component of seawater – could one day be the material that shuttles ions back and forth between the electrodes in solid-state batteries used for grid-scale energy storage.

Lithium is currently at the heart of modern batteries, powering everything from our smartphones to e-bikes and electric cars. But there’s a very real risk that the material could become scarcer and more expensive in the future. According to Natural Resources Canada, lithium production has more than doubled world-wide in in the past five years. And a handful of countries hold most of the planet’s lithium stores. Canada’s supplies amount to only 4.4 per cent of the total worldwide.

“We’re not looking to entirely replace lithium-ion batteries, but we need other solutions in the next few decades if we are going to meet this massive need that the world will have for hundreds of terawatt hours that allow for effective use of solar and wind,” said Sarbajit Banerjee, professor at ETH Zürich, a public university in Switzerland, and Head of the Laboratory for Battery Science at Switzerland’s Paul Scherrer Institute.

Read more on the CLS website

Image: Seaweed batteries – X-ray Excited Optical Luminescence Spectroscopy

New 3D map of the electrical wiring of the heart to help patients with congenital heart disease

2026/06/022026/06/02

Researchers from UCL (University College London) and the ESRF (The European Synchrotron) have produced the first three-dimensional map of the heart’s electrical wiring in Tetralogy of Fallot, one of the most common congenital heart problems, revealing anatomical features that may explain why many patients develop heart conduction disorders in this condition. The research, part of the Human Organ Atlas international collaboration, can be used for surgical training and lead to even better outcomes for patients. The research is out in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Congenital heart disease affects around 1% of the population worldwide. In many cases, babies must undergo life-saving heart surgery shortly after birth. Although survival rates are now high, many patients develop complications later in life, particularly abnormal heart rhythms or contraction patterns. Surgeons have long known that these problems can arise when the heart’s delicate electrical conduction system, which is invisible during surgery, is disturbed.

Andrew Cook, professor of Cardiac anatomy at UCL and senior author of the study, explains: “I often compare it to renovating a house: you wouldn’t want to start drilling into a wall without knowing where the electrical wires are. The same principle applies to the heart”. Instead, surgeons use ‘anatomical landmarks’ and these have now been revised in the study.

This research is part of the Human Organ Atlas international collaboration. The Atlas is powered by an advanced imaging method called Hierarchical Phase-Contrast Tomography (HiP-CT), developed at the European Synchrotron (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, by an international team led by University College London (UCL), UK to visualise anatomy in unprecedented detail.

Read more on the ESRF website

Image: Rendering of a heart with Tetralogy of Fallot showing the septal defect.

Credit: Joseph Brunet, Cinematic Anatomy (Siemens Healthineers)

New milestone in superconducting undulator development

2026/05/292026/06/02

Successful tests confirm outstanding performance of coils

Researchers at European XFEL have reached an important milestone in developing a new generation of X-ray light sources. A set of superconducting electromagnets, produced by Bilfinger Nuclear, have proven their excellent performance, paving the way for the use of the design in future superconducting undulators. These devices will cause accelerated electrons to radiate much more effectively than current state-of-the-art technology allows. European XFEL aims to become the world’s first X-ray free-electron laser to use superconducting undulators. These undulators will unlock new research in fields such as materials science, chemistry, biology and high-energy-density science by providing X-ray pulses with significantly shorter wavelengths than have been possible at XFELs to date.

The magnetic field of undulators is designed to be highly periodic, precisely controlled, and exceptionally uniform along the electron beam path. The electromagnets examined at European XFEL consist of niobium-titanium (NbTi) wire. At the operating temperature of -269 degrees Celsius, the material is superconducting, meaning it can carry very high electrical currents with virtually no resistance. When wound into coils with extreme precision, an electromagnet is created that produces a strong magnetic field when carrying an electric current. Measurements of their magnetic field have now been completed and show that the coils successfully reached the required operating current and produced the target magnetic field of 1.82 Tesla, while maintaining the necessary field quality for X-ray generation over the entire 2-metre length of the coils.

This is important because using the devices to generate X-rays relies not only on the magnetic fields being very strong, but also on them being highly periodic. Even tiny deviations from this periodic structure affect the quality of the X-ray beam generated. The qualification tests demonstrate that the coils can meet these demanding requirements over their full two-metre length, making them the longest high-precision superconducting undulator coils ever produced and measured.

Read more on the European XFEL website

Image: The SUNDAE1 test stand and a sketch of the sledge attached to a rod with Hall probes sliding along the magnetic field axis of the SCU coils (Illustration: S. Casalbuoni et al., Front. Phys. Sec. Interdisciplinary Physics Volume 11 – 2023)

UK and France launch biomedical and AI health alliance to accelerate research into major diseases

2026/05/292026/06/04

A new partnership will unite expertise, infrastructure and data across borders to accelerate diagnosis, treatment and ultimately prevention of major diseases – starting with women’s health, infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness.

Diamond Light Source, the University of Oxford, Université Paris Cité, the Institut Pasteur and Synchrotron SOLEIL have signed a landmark agreement establishing a major new UK-France scientific alliance designed to strengthen how diseases are understood, diagnosed, treated and ultimately prevented.

The partnership comes at a time when advances in science and technology are generating unprecedented amounts of biological and clinical data, as well as transforming our understanding of human health. But turning that information into faster diagnoses, better treatments and improved disease prevention remains a major challenge across disciplines, institutions and national systems.

The UK–France Strategic Biomedical Alliance in Health and AI has been established to address that challenge by connecting world-leading expertise and national infrastructure into a single collaboration. The interdisciplinary model will unite clinical research, molecular biology, engineering, advanced imaging, data science, artificial intelligence and translational medicine across both countries, making it faster and easier for researchers to connect the technologies, expertise and data needed to tackle complex disease.

Read more on the Diamond website

Image: Dr Jean Susini, Director General, Synchrotron SOLEIL. Sir Thomas Drew KCMG, His Majesty’s Ambassador to France. Professor Richard Cornall, Head of the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. Professor Matthieu Resche-Rigon, Dean of the Health Faculty, Université Paris Cité. Jean-Luc Moullet, Director General for Research and Innovation, French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space. Dr Martin Walsh, Interim Director of Life Sciences, Diamond Light Source. Dr Odette Tomescu-Hatto, Director of International Affairs, Institut Pasteur.

Credit: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)

10 Years of SOLARIS – A Decade of Science, Collaboration and Technological Development

2026/05/222026/05/28

On 22 May 2026, the SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre of the Jagiellonian University celebrated the 10th anniversary of its activity. The jubilee gala, held at the historic Stara Zajezdnia venue in Kraków, gathered 230 guests representing the scientific community, European research infrastructures, public administration, regional authorities and the business sector. The anniversary was not only an opportunity to reflect on the first decade of operation of the only synchrotron in Central and Eastern Europe, but also a moment to consider the role of modern research infrastructures in the development of science, technology and international collaboration.

Among the guests were representatives of the authorities of the Jagiellonian University, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, national and regional administration, as well as international partners representing European research infrastructures, synchrotron facilities and institutions collaborating with SOLARIS. Participants included Prof. Piotr Jedynak, Rector of the Jagiellonian University, Prof. Wojciech Macyk, Vice-Rector for Research of the Jagiellonian University, Michał Goszczyński, Director of the Department at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Stanisław Kracik, Deputy Mayor of the City of Kraków, as well as representatives of regional authorities, the scientific and infrastructure communities from Poland and abroad, including Prof. Jean Daillant, Director General of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in France, and Prof. Thomas Feurer, Director of European XFEL in Hamburg.

The official part of the celebration began with speeches delivered by representatives of the authorities of the Jagiellonian University – Prof. Piotr Jedynak, Rector of the Jagiellonian University, and Prof. Wojciech Macyk, Vice-Rector for Research. Afterwards, the Director of SOLARIS, Prof. Jakub Szlachetko, addressed the audience, referring in his speech to the work of Stanisław Lem – the author of the novel Solaris, from which the Centre derives its name.
“We are only seeking Man. We have no need of other worlds. We need mirrors,” quoted the Director of the Centre, referring to Lem’s famous words. “For the past ten years, SOLARIS has been exactly such a place – a place of discovery, of asking questions, and of pushing the boundaries of what still seems impossible to see and understand.”

In his speech, Prof. Szlachetko recalled the history of the first synchrotron in Poland – from the long-standing efforts of the scientific community gathered around the Polish Synchrotron Radiation Society and the Polish Synchrotron Consortium, through the support of the Jagiellonian University and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, to the launch of the first electron beam in 2016. “SOLARIS is the result of a collective effort by the scientific community, institutional courage and the conviction that Poland needs a modern research infrastructure capable of conducting world-class research,” emphasised Prof. Szlachetko.

Read more on the SOLARIS website

Image: Speech by the Director of the SOLARIS Centre, Prof. Jakub Szlachetko. SOLARIS 10th Anniversary Gala

Credit: Joanna Kowalik

John Hill Named Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory

2026/05/212026/06/02

Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA) has named physicist John Hill as director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, effective May 21. Hill is a longtime employee at Brookhaven Lab. He has served as interim lab director since September 2025.

BSA’s board of directors selected Hill after a competitive international search. Hill will also serve as BSA’s president. BSA — a partnership between Stony Brook University and Battelle — manages and operates Brookhaven Lab on behalf of DOE’s Office of Science.

“We are delighted to have John Hill selected to lead Brookhaven National Laboratory at a pivotal moment for science and national impact,” said BSA Board Chair and Battelle’s Executive Vice President of National Laboratory Management & Operations Juan Alvarez. “He brings the leadership and vision needed to advance the Lab’s future — delivering transformative discovery through the Electron-Ion Collider and accelerating impact across AI and embodied intelligence, distributed quantum systems, microelectronics, and a future upgrade to the Lab’s National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II). Under John’s leadership, we are confident Brookhaven will continue to expand its science-ready infrastructure and strategic public-private partnerships in service to the nation.”

As director, Hill will work with stakeholders including DOE, policymakers, collaborating institutions, and community members as he leads Brookhaven toward strategic growth and scientific opportunity.

“I am thrilled that, following a very competitive international search, John Hill has emerged as the very best leader for Brookhaven National Laboratory at this exciting juncture,” said BSA Board Co-Chair and Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith. “John’s deep expertise, vision, and leadership skills will be essential as the Lab looks to usher in a new era of fundamental physics discovery at the Electron-Ion Collider, while continuing its groundbreaking research in quantum systems, AI, microelectronics, materials science, and high-resolution imaging. Stony Brook is proud to co-manage and partner with Brookhaven to advance the frontiers of discovery to benefit our country’s innovation, economic vitality, and national security. John’s leadership will be essential to ensuring the Lab’s success and impact long into the future.”

Read more on the BNL website

Image: John Hill is pictured during his first all-hands meeting with Lab staff as interim director in 2025. His appointment as director was announced to staff today at another all-staff gathering.

Credit: Kevin Coughlin/Brookhaven National Laboratory

289-Million-Year-Old “Reptile Mummy” Unearthed

2026/05/192026/05/19

An international collaborative research team composed of the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC), University of Toronto, Harvard University, the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, and Jilin University has achieved a breakthrough in vertebrate paleontology and evolutionary biology. The team successfully characterized a mummified fossil of the early Permian reptile Captorhinus, dating back approximately 289 million years. The discovery not only provides critical insights into the evolution of the respiratory system in early amniotes but also establishes a new record for the oldest known preservation of soft tissues and protein-related molecular signatures. The findings were published in Nature on April 8.

Captorhinus resembled a small lizard and predates dinosaurs by nearly 40 million years. The exceptionally preserved fossil was excavated from the Richards Spur cave system in Oklahoma, USA. Unique geological conditions at the site, including hydrocarbon-rich petroleum seepage and oxygen-poor, muddy sediments, effectively inhibited microbial decomposition, enabling the specimen to be preserved in a near-mummified state. As a result, delicate soft tissues, including skin, cartilage, and thoracic structures, were retained with extraordinary fidelity. To investigate this rare specimen, the research team integrated morphology, molecular analysis, and synchrotron-based techniques into a comprehensive multiscale study of vertebrate evolution.

Unlike amphibians, which primarily rely on cutaneous and buccal pumping for respiration, amniotes — including humans and all terrestrial vertebrates — evolved a rib-based ventilatory system capable of far more efficient oxygen exchange. This rib-driven breathing mechanism represented a major evolutionary innovation, enabling vertebrates to adapt to terrestrial environments and ultimately laying the foundation for the extensive diversification and ecological dominance of amniotes on land.

Read more on the NSRRC website

Image: Mummified fossil of the early Permian reptile Captorhinus

Towards ALBA II: A new high-stability girder system

2026/05/142026/05/21

The ALBA Synchrotron has developed a new girder system designed to meet the demanding mechanical stability requirements of ALBA II, the upcoming upgrade of the facility. These girders are key structures that support magnets, vacuum chambers, and diagnostic systems while ensuring their precise alignment along the accelerator.

In particle accelerators, girders are critical mechanical structures that must maintain the position of components with micrometre accuracy, while suppressing drifts and vibrations that could degrade beam quality. Even minimal vibrations or mechanical deviations can affect the trajectory and properties of the electron beam, having a large impact on the photon beam at the beamlines.

These girders must provide an excellent stability against external vibrations and good thermal stability, including high adjustment precision, with acceptable manufacturing costs.

While the current ALBA storage ring operates with 264 magnets distributed in 32 girders, the future machine will integrate 760 magnets in 80 girders within the same circumference, dramatically increasing the density of components, with distance between magnets as small as 10 mm. Such compactness introduces additional constraints like tighter spatial tolerances between components, and reduced margins for alignment errors.

To address these challenges, the new girder system must achieve positioning accuracies on the order of 50 micrometres between adjacent magnets, while maintaining long-term stability despite environmental and structural changes, such as slab deformation or temperature changes.

Read more on the ALBA website

Image: Girder Prototypes installed at the ALBA experimental hall with dummy magnets ready for testing

Credit: ALBA

Researchers find an inexpensive way to make batteries last longer

2026/05/132026/05/14

By adjusting the heating process when making lithium-ion cathodes, the team created batteries that retained nearly 93% of their energy after 500 cycles.

Editor’s note: The following news brief was originally published by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The research team used transmission X-ray microscopy at the Full Field X-ray Imaging (FXI) beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a DOE Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, to visualize 3D changes in nickel oxidation states within individual particles of nickel-rich layered cathodes as they were heated. Understanding this process could help pave the way for longer-lasting battery structures.

To make batteries that last longer, scientists are creating internal battery structures that don’t degrade as quickly as current designs do. In fact, the reason many lithium-ion batteries ultimately fail is that their cathodes, or negative electrodes, crack after repeated charging and discharging.

Researchers at the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center, a partnership between Stanford University’s Precourt Institute for Energy and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, have found a simple way to solve this problem in nickel-rich layered-oxide cathodes, the type of cathode used in powerful, long-lasting lithium-ion batteries for data centers and grid-scale energy storage.

By adjusting the heating process when making these cathodes – starting slowly, then ramping up the heat quickly – they found they could create more uniform cathode structures at the nanoscale level. These structures don’t crack and degrade as quickly as current batteries.

The resulting material was more resistant to strain and cracking, retaining nearly 93% of the battery’s energy after 500 cycles.

Read more on the BNL website

Hijacking cell’s natural machinery to help treat diseases

2026/05/122026/05/12

“Molecular glue” could be used to control activity of harmful proteins

Proteins do most of the work in our body’s cells. But when a protein is too active or does not function properly, it can lead to disease or other health problems.

Researchers from the University of Toronto have discovered a molecule, CLEO4-88, that acts as a ‘molecular glue,’ binding together two proteins to inactivate one of them. The finding – enabled by the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan – points to the possibility of one day treating disease by controlling the activity of harmful proteins.Video: Hijacking cell’s natural machinery to help treat diseases

Molecular glues typically stick together two proteins that would not normally interact, marking one of them for destruction. In this study, researcher Chetan Chana and colleagues discovered that instead marking a protein for destruction, CLEO4-88 inactivated it. The team’s findings are published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

The high-powered X-rays at the CLS enabled the researchers to see that CLEO4-88 stuck two proteins together and slowed down the activity of one of them (ACAA1). While ACAA1 – which is involved in breaking down fats inside cells – was not destroyed, its activity was reduced. This mechanism could potentially be leveraged to control some triple negative breast cancers, where ACAA1 activity has been shown to be elevated.

Read more on the CLS website

Image: Molecular glue – crystal

Credit: CLS

Left or right?… Distinguishing chiral nanoparticles by their strongly asymmetric photoemission yield

2026/05/112026/05/28

Many biological and bio-active molecules, like pharmaceuticals, fragrances exist in two distinct mirrored forms, the enantiomers of a so-called chiral species. While identical in chemical and physical properties, two enantiomers of the same molecules differ in their interaction with a given chiral environment, making the challenging analytical distinction of enantiomers a crucial task in industry.
Research conducted on the DESIRS beamline has now revealed a pathway to a simple table-top experimental approach to identify enantiomers of a molecule and quantify their relative content in condensed sample particles.

Enantiomers of chiral molecules, like our hands, are mirror images one of the other but cannot be superimposed. Such chiral molecules are omnipresent in biology, biochemistry, and pharmacology, where analytical enantio-sensitive measurements are crucial. A tragically famous example of the importance of this enantio-sensitivity is the drug known as Thalidomide: the left-hand form of Thalidomide molecule is a sedative, while the right-hand form has teratogenic effects; a mixture of the two forms was prescribed as a drug for pregnant women in the 1960s, resulting in the birth of thousands of children with birth defects. However, most traditional chiroptical techniques provide only weak chiral signatures, making precise measurements difficult.

Read more on the SOLEIL website

How a reactive ion turns small gas molecules into complex organics

2026/05/112026/05/28

Scientists from ISMO, ICP and ISM used the CERISES instrument at the DESIRS beamline at SOLEIL to investigate how cyclopentadiene (C₅H₆)—a key building block of complex carbon and aromatic molecules—forms in cold interstellar clouds. By combining laboratory experiments and modeling, they identified new ion–molecule reactions and measured their rates, significantly improving predictions of its abundance.

Cold molecular clouds such as TMC-1 (Taurus Molecular Cloud-1) are key laboratories for understanding the build-up of molecular complexity in space. Over the past decade, radioastronomical surveys have revealed an unexpectedly rich inventory of cyclic and aromatic species, including cyclopentadiene (C₅H₆), indene (figure 1), and several cyano derivatives. However, despite these detections, astrochemical models have consistently underestimated the abundance of C₅H₆ by factors of several, highlighting a lack of reliable data about formation pathways from simple acyclic precursors toward the first five-membered aromatic ring.

Read more on the SOLEIL website

BESSY II: How intrinsic oxygen shortens the lifespan of solid-state batteries

2026/05/082026/05/28

Although solid-state batteries (SSBs) demonstrate high performance and are intrinsically safe, their capacity currently declines rapidly. A team from the TU Wien, Humboldt-University Berlin and HZB has now analysed a TiS₂|Li₃YCl₆ solid-state half-cell in operando at BESSY II using a special sample environment that allows for non-destructive investigation under real operating conditions. Data obtained by combination of soft and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and HAXPES) revealed a new degradation mechanism that had not previously been identified in solid-state batteries. They have gained some surprising insights, particularly regarding the harmful role played by intrinsic oxygen. This study provides valuable information for improving design and handling of such batteries.

Solid-state batteries (SSBs) offer several advantages over conventional batteries, including higher energy and power densities, as well as greater safety, as they do not contain flammable liquid electrolytes. However, since lithium ions migrate between the working electrode and the counter-electrode during operation, the solid material can suffer by volume changes, which can lead to cracks. In order to maintain contact between electrodes and electrolyte, SSBs must be operated under high pressure. Volume changes, as well as degradation processes at the interfaces, often limit the lifespan of these batteries. Until now, it has been virtually impossible to observe these processes experimentally, particularly due to the high stacking pressure required during operation. However, Dr Elmar Kataev, a scientist at HZB, has now developed a sample environment that enables operando analysis of SSBs under high pressure using two-colour – soft and hard – X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and HAXPES) at the SISSY endstation at BESSY II. These conditions of combining two different energies of X-rays (hard for bulk sensitivity and soft – for surface) hitting the same spot is exclusively available at EMIL beamline.

Read more on the HZB website

Image: A view of the operando cell in the sample chamber during the measurements at the SISSY Endstation.

OpenBind’s first data and model release marks a milestone for AI enabled drug discovery

2026/05/062026/05/07

The UK‑led OpenBind initiative has reached a major milestone with the announcement of the release of its first publicly available dataset and predictive AI model, a groundbreaking step toward accelerating the discovery of new medicines using artificial intelligence. The release showcases how engineering the production of AI-ready data is not only feasible but essential to evolving AI tools for scientific fields, which all suffer from a lack of data. With this OpenBind release, both high‑quality, standardised experimental data, and a newly trained predictive model, OpenBind v1, will become freely accessible to researchers worldwide, for immediate use in therapeutic discovery and to drive the next generation of AI models.

While AI has introduced a step‑change in predictive accuracy for protein structures, its impact on drug discovery has remained muted, limited above all by the global shortage of reliable experimental data measuring in atomic detail how molecules of drug discovery bind to disease‑related proteins. OpenBind aims to fill this critical gap. Led by Diamond Light Source, the collaboration of structural biologists and AI specialists – supported in its foundation phase by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) – is the first initiative to generate these essential datasets at industrial scale, openly and continuously, and designed specifically for AI.

This first release demonstrates that OpenBind’s pipeline is now operational, having generated 800 high-quality measurements in only seven months – in the past, such large datasets took years to be produced and released. This integrated operation combines automated chemistry, robust binding measurements and high throughput crystallography at Diamond’s XChem Fragment Screening facility with an engineered data release process and AI model training using UK’s Isambard-AI compute cluster. It lays the groundwork for transformative progress in drug discovery, with future data tranches planned to address global‑health challenges such as COVID‑19, malaria, dengue, Zika, and cancer, where rapid development of new treatments remains vital.

Read more on the Diamond website

Image credit: Stuart March – DNDi

The “oldest octopus”‘s mistaken identity unmasked using the PUMA beamline

2026/05/042026/05/07

An international team including scientists from the IPANEMA Institute and the PUMA beamline has revealed that a 300-million-year-old fossil, previously thought to be the oldest known octopus, is in fact a very different animal: a nautiloid.
This study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, resolves a major evolutionary paradox by confirming a much more recent origin for modern octopuses, while providing unique insights into the poorly-known soft tissues of nautiloids.

While the fossil record and molecular clocks* place the origin of modern octopuses in the Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, a 300-million-year-old fossil named Pohlsepia mazonensis, discovered in the famous Mazon Creek concretions (Illinois), suggests an origin twice as old. This 150-million-year gap, with no intermediate fossils to bridge it, remained one of the greatest mysteries of cephalopod evolution.

Since its description in 2000, however, the identity of Pohlsepia has remained highly debated, as the soft tissues preserved in the Mazon Creek fossils are often limited to colored spots, which experts consider misleading when examined visually. Taking advantage of new imaging methods that have emerged since the 2010s, which allow for an unprecedented description of fossil anatomy, including internal structures and invisible details, scientists were able to reexamine this fossil in the manner of a true forensic investigation. While the 3D X-ray scanner proved largely uninformative because the fossil is almost entirely flat, another approach using X-rays at the PUMA beamline revealed Pohlsepia’s true identity.

Read more on the SOLEIL website

Image: Mounting of the two parts of the fossil on the PUMA beamline just before analysis, on June 22, 2022.

Safe and sustainable batteries focus for new university collaboration

2026/05/042026/06/04

A battery research collaboration focusing on lithium-ion alternatives is starting at MAX IV. The collaboration involving Swedish and Danish universities is a pilot for the new HUB user access mode.

Battery technology is an important Swedish and Nordic research area, something that has been underscored, not least by recent initiatives by the Swedish Government. The challenge of finding new, effective and sustainable lithium-ion battery alternatives is a complex and multifaceted task that requires collaboration between experts in different areas. This need motivated the new Battery pilot HUB, including Chalmers University of Technology, Uppsala University, Lund University, Aarhus University and MAX IV.

We spoke to Aleksandar Matic from Chalmers University of Technology, one of the partners in the newly formed Battery HUB collaboration named BatMAX and Joachim Schnadt, MAX IV Science Director.

“We’re going to study sodium-ion batteries, a promising battery technology for the future. Sodium-ion batteries can store about the same amount of energy as a conventional lithium-ion battery, but have several important advantages. Sodium is more abundant and evenly spread globally as a raw material since it can be extracted from seawater. Sodium-ion batteries are also more sustainable because the cathode materials do not contain cobalt, which is often used in lithium-ion battery cathodes,” says Matic.

Read more on the MAX IV website