Page 93 - ILLS Annual Report 2018

THE Industry Liaison Unit (ILU) in the Science Division is the focal point of industrial
activities at the ILL. The objective of the Unit is to bridge the gap between the ILL as a facility that is historically oriented to serving the academic research community, and industrial research and development (R&D). This involves significant efforts in terms of outreach to increase awareness of neutron scattering techniques and explore different ways of working with industry, ranging from funded research projects to paid-for services.
Funded projects are a key mechanism for opening
up academically developed research techniques to industry R&D in order to drive innovation. Indeed, many European and nationally funded projects now require industry-academia partnerships in order to enhance innovation potential. Thus the European project, SINE2020, includes an industry consultancy (https://www.sine2020.eu/industry.html)
that publicises neutron capabilities and offers feasibility studies. In 2018, nine such measurements over 13 days were performed at the ILL, distributed as follows—stress measurement: seven (three for additive manufacturing); SANS: one; powder diffraction: one. Since the start of the project in October 2015, 33 companies, most of them new to neutron techniques, have carried out feasibility studies. Another way of collaborating with industry is through training, and in September we submitted a COFUND proposal (InnovaXN) for a PhD programme with the ESRF. If successful, this will provide funding for 40 PhD projects over five years, with the condition that each student must spend at least one month per year
with an industrial partner.
The IRT-nanoelec (Research Institute for Technology for Nanoelectronics) is a French funded project that has led
to the creation of the Platform for Advanced Characterisation in Grenoble (PAC-G), offering a range of advanced neutron (ILL), X-ray (ESRF) and other analytical techniques to the electronics industry. In 2018, a collaboration agreement was signed with SERMA Technologies (https://www.serma-technologies.com/)
with the objective of promoting PAC-G’s unique services. Nine feasibility studies were performed with SERMA and IRT industry partners in 2018. As the IRT nears the end of its current phase, 2018 also saw the opportunity to discuss the future of the project beyond 2020. If funded, it will focus on the radiation sensitivity of electronics, a field that is assuming great importance with the increasing deployment of autonomous devices and vehicles.
D50 is an instrument that was developed at the ILL within the scope of the IRT. Through a collaboration between the ILL and Grenoble Alpes University, a neutron imaging station was added (D50-tomo – see https://next- grenoble.fr) with industry funding, thus providing new possibilities for R&D in many applied domains. In 2018,
INDUSTRIAL ACTILVLITIINESTHAET PTHRESISLSL 90-91
SALSA team with Fraunhofer IWS Dresden.
D50-tomo reached excellent levels of performance, including 1-second complete tomography measurements and 4-micron spatial resolution, and 85 % of experiments combined its neutron and X-ray capability in situ. In the context of phase 2 of the Endurance upgrade programme, it has been decided that D50 will become a dedicated, public, imaging instrument in the Large Scale Structures group from 2020. An international advisory committee will bring together expertise from major neutron facilities to guide the upgrade project and the ILL is currently recruiting an instrument scientist.
Most techniques of interest to industry are high throughput, like imaging, SANS, reflectometry and powder diffraction, where the cost of direct industry use is relatively low since one day of beamtime is often sufficient. Strain scanning
is an exception to this rule. With the development of additive layer manufacturing (3D printing), which was the subject of a very successful workshop at the ILL in 2018, the technique is of growing interest to industry. However, measurement times are necessarily long and experiments are therefore relatively expensive. In this context, and over a three-year period, we are exploring the possibility of developing longer-term collaborations with industry, via such organisations as Fraunhofer IWS Dresden
and the Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence
in Manchester. In 2018, 36 % of beamtime on SALSA was used for industrial activity, of which 61 % was for collaborative projects.
Finally, energy materials and battery research in particular are presenting new, exciting opportunities for advanced neutron analytical techniques in industry and innovation. Following a workshop at the end of 2017 organised by the ILL, ESRF and CEA, which attracted more than 100 local participants, the three institutions will start a common PhD project in 2019 with UMICORE as industrial partner. In this field, the ILU attended the Graz Battery Days conference in 2018 and we will attend the International Electric Vehicle Symposium in Lyon in 2019.
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