SEK 74 million in WISE funding for technology platforms at Uppsala University

Several research groups from the Faculty of Science and Technology at Uppsala University collaborate within the framework of WISE, whose overarching goal is to support materials research for sustainability. And the current investment includes three technology platforms in Uppsala: WISE Additive, WISE EST, and NAP-XPS.

Enhanced material development through WISE Additive

WISE Additive is a national platform for additive manufacturing (AM), the most resource-efficient manufacturing technology enabling production of complex-shape multi-functional components, not possible to produce using conventional manufacturing. The platform is a joint activity between Uppsala University, Chalmers University of Technology, and Linköping University. At Uppsala, the focus is on material development for and through AM, as well as powder production, recyclability in AM, and non-destructive structural analysis. At Chalmers, the focus is on the development and industrial implementation of sustainable multi-functional metal-metal and metal-ceramic components. And at Linköping, the focus is on printing advanced electronic materials and devices. WISE Additive will facilitate development and introduction of sustainable materials into Swedish industry.

Cecilia Persson, principal investigator for WISE Additive at Uppsala University, explains that the investment in additive manufacturing provides expanded opportunities for material development for researchers in both Uppsala and the rest of Sweden.

– The Ångström Laboratory already had the capacity for laser metal printing. However, the new investments enable local customization of powders for research , improved possibilities for post-processing and non-destructive evaluation of printed components through X-ray tomography.

This means increased freedom in terms of material design, the highest quality of printed surfaces, and the potential for reduced material and resource usage. The investment thus constitutes a welcome reinforcement of opportunities for outstanding materials research through additive manufacturing in Uppsala and Sweden.

Sustainable tribology solutions within WISE EST

The WISE EST (Enabling Sustainable technology Transitions) platform focuses on how materials can be tailored to enhance energy efficiency and increase lifetimes of engineering systems, to allow sustainable technology to become competitive and widely used without delay. The research area, tribology, studies surfaces in contact, with a focus on friction, wear, and lubrication for critical components.

Within the WISE EST framework, Uppsala University and Luleå University of Technology collaborate on tribological test setups that offer realistic test conditions in highly controlled environments. They also use state-of-the-art analytical tools to study the behavior and performance of materials. WISE EST will investigate how new materials, coatings, and lubricants should be adapted to make sustainable solutions competitive and established in the market.

Staffan Jacobson and Urban Wiklund, principal investigators for WISE EST at Uppsala University, are very pleased and grateful for the support from WISE, enabling the implementation of advanced capabilities within the WISE EST lab.

– This provides expanded opportunities for research groups at Uppsala University, through collaborative projects with the node in Luleå but also to a large extent for collaborations with other material science groups both in Sweden and internationally. WISE EST's unique capabilities will also be offered to industries involved in the development of new sustainable technology.

New analysis possibilities with NAP-XPS

Near Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) enables element-specific examination of the material surface under atmospheric-like conditions. This allows, for example, the study of inorganic and soft/organic materials, processes under reactive conditions, and studies that include gas or liquid phases. The platform is a joint effort between Linköping University, Chalmers, and Uppsala University.

In Linköping, the focus is on soft and radiation-sensitive materials. At Chalmers, the emphasis is on catalysis and electrochemistry. In Uppsala, the tool is integrated within the LigHt platform for extreme elemental sensitivity and structural analysis, focusing on light elements in materials and corrosion processes.

The new instrumentation will be placed in the well-established Tandem Laboratory at Uppsala University. Thus, the NAP-XPS instrumentation will be complemented by existing high-precision techniques for the characterization of light chemical species, such as elastic recoil detection and nuclear resonance profiling. An example is extremely precise characterization methods with MeV ions that will complement the extremely high sensitivity of SIMS.

Daniel Primetzhofer, principal investigator for NAP-XPS/LigHt in Uppsala, explains that NAP-XPS and LigHt will create a completely unique research environment that allows information about the structure, chemistry, and composition of materials at the atomic level to be linked to properties at the macroscopic level.

– This is crucial for new applications focusing on light elements such as lithium and hydrogen. The best analysis methods from different areas of material characterization are combined in a new way so that maximum sensitivity is combined with realistic environments for the materials under investigation. This creates an environment to study the entire life cycle of materials from synthesis through application to recycling.