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(similar to those of BM05, ID19 and ID17). The exceptional coherence of BM18, associated with propagation distances up to 35m, opens a completely new level of propagation phase contrast at high energy. Preliminary tests on biomedical specimens, materials science and palaeontology are extremely promising. The first call for proposals will be in March 2022, for user operation starting in September 2022. Nevertheless, the large tomography sample stage is delayed due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and will be available for user operation only in 2023. The first user experiments will be performed using the small tomography system, but with a nearly complete set of detectors for multi-resolution applications.
Microtomography beamline ID19 hosted a series of in- situ experiments including 3D-printing of metals (additive manufacturing), laser welding, shock-wave generation by pulsed power and battery abuse testing by means of thermal runaway. In order to cope with the increasing demands for sample preparation, a dedicated laboratory environment was installed next to the beamline control room. Furthermore, a MHz ultra-high speed camera by Shimadzu (type: HPVX-2) was delivered in the frame of the ERC grant BREAK by Renard et al. The rising interested in ultra-high-speed X-ray imaging experiments at beamline ID19 has led to a Block Allocation Group (BAG) pilot project for shock experiments using a gas gun and Split-Hopkinson pressure bar system. In addition to the articles in this chapter, the study by M. Becker et al. [1] should be noted.
At the start of 2021, powder diffraction beamline ID22 replaced its source undulators with a 2.5-m-long in- vacuum u26 transferred from ID16B. The replacement undulator is centred in the straight section and provides at least a factor of two greater intensity above 40 keV, enhancing studies such as pair distribution function analysis and mapping of residual strain in engineering components. The new Eiger2 X 2M-W detector with CdTe sensor, delivered at the end of 2020, was also brought into routine operation for high-resolution powder diffraction studies, replacing the bank of scintillation counters behind the analyser crystals, and allowing the number of analyser crystals to be increased from nine to 13. A new gas pressure control system was commissioned for adsorption
and desorption measurements on systems such as zeolites and metal organic framework materials, providing greater speed, stability, accuracy and safety for such studies, and allowing complex pressure profiles to be programmed from vacuum to 100 bar, coupled with temperature control of the sample and data acquisition.
Towards the end of 2021, many operando experiments on batteries, catalysis and additive manufacturing were successfully carried out at ID31. Furthermore, the team, with the help of summer trainees from Aalto University, developed an X-ray transparent electrolysis cell providing current densities (1-2A/cm2) relevant to industrial-scale water and CO2 electrolysis. This cell has already been used in in-house and user experiments. Besides ongoing research projects, the ID31 team was also busy with the EU TEESMAT (European battery characterisation test-bed) project. As part of the project, materials and fuel cells from major battery manufacturers and start-up companies were characterised and optimised for performance and safety, helping the young European battery industry become internationally competitive. ID31 also welcomed three PhD students as part of the InnovaXN programme to link academia and industry, working on various problems such as the development of more efficient lubricants and materials for the hydrogen economy
V. HONKIMÄKI
REFERENCE
[1] M. Becker et al., Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 218, 110817 (2020).