The unique scientific capabilities of large-scale research infrastructures like MAX IV are a powerful tool for industrial innovation. With its latest call, Vinnova seeks to support projects that help Swedish companies turn facilities like MAX IV and ESS into real innovation assets by increasing industry’s understanding of relevant research techniques.
With funding from a previous Vinnova call, Sprint Bioscience used the FragMAX platform at BioMAX beamline to study a cancer-related protein. Through fragment screening, the company identified which small pieces of molecules – also called fragments – attach to the protein’s binding sites. Visualising the 3D proteins–fragment complex provides the structural insight needed to initiate drug development. The fragment screening and analysis processes took just over a week. This was made possible by X-ray crystallography at MAX IV.
The 2026 call includes pilot projects, which can receive a maximum of 500k SEK for up to 18 months, and development projects, which can receive a maximum of 1,5M SEK for up to 24 months. For development projects, there is a co-funding requirement of at least 30 percent. Applicant groups must include at least one Swedish company and at least one Swedish organisation (university, company, research institute etc.) with expertise in synchrotron and neutron techniques. Development projects are open to companies of all sizes, while pilot projects are solely for SMEs. For both types of project, at least one experiment must be conducted at a synchrotron or neutron facility.
“Experimental work at large-scale facilities like MAX IV can feel quite intimidating for industrial users, mainly due to limited experience and awareness of what the techniques can actually offer on industrial applied R&D,” said Tuerdi Maimaitiyili, Industrial Relations Officer at MAX IV. Maimaitiyili previously supported several of these projects during his time at RISE. “Pilot and development projects, such as those funded by Vinnova, give companies the opportunity to explore these advanced methods, reduce uncertainty, and build practical know-how before adding them to their toolbox and using them regularly for their specific needs.”
Companies involved in previous calls have used MAX IV to study a variety of different materials. At HIPPIE beamline, Alfa Laval and Quintus studied how 3D-printed stainless steel corrodes in real time. Truly Labs, working at NanoMAX beamline, began developing processes for studying chronic lung diseases, from tissue preparation to advanced data analysis tools. Several waste management companies teamed up to study the trace metals that remain in the ashes of incinerated waste at Balder beamline. Further examples of the projects Vinnova previously financed can be found here.
The call closes at 1400hrs CEST on 3 June, 2026. Applicants are encouraged to start their applications well ahead of the deadline to ensure ample time to submit competitive proposals. The application material can be found here. Successful applicants will be notified on 1 October, 2026.
