ISTAC’s evaluation of CERIC’s Czech and Romanian Partner Facilities
On 26th and 27th October, 2022, the members of the ISTAC of CERIC performed the periodical evaluation of the Czech and Romanian partner facilities (PFs) of the Consortium.
At the Czech PF at the Charles University in Prague (CUP) and in Trieste, Andrew Harrison, Karsten Horn and Sara Cavaliere13 have been very impressed by the achievements of the PF and evaluated the work carried out as of a very high quality. The facilities and services provided are considered to be very important for CERIC and particularly aligned with key strategic objectives in the field of energy materials. Also the scientific output has been very positively evaluated, due to the large number of publications released, many of which are of high impact and in general with a world-class output. The same is true for the instruments of the facility, which are among the most requested ones in the CERIC portfolio. Their periodical upgrade has indeed been crucial to maintain competitivity, and is an added value for the CERIC open access offer. In fact, the facility has been successful in attracting excellent researchers, also from countries with well-equipped research institutions, such as Germany, and also during the Covid-19 pandemic period, when more remote access was provided, requiring quite an effort by the PF’s staff.
A particular point of strength introduced relatively recently, is open access to the characterisation platform of fuel cells and electrolysers. The ability to test systems or materials in a device is crucial for materials scientists, most of whom only have access to ex situ electrochemical measurements. Also the support in preparing the membrane–electrode assembly to be tested is excellent.
Another strong point is the recently developed cell for operando ESCA measurements during electrolysis, which provides much more detailed information in a membrane-electrode assembly configuration, i.e., in real device conditions.
ISTAC also expressed appreciation in respect to the training activities offered to young scientists at the facility, as well as through the training activities proposed by CERIC. Also the good integration between CUP and CERIC has been positively noted, as well as the PF’s participation in CERIC funding initiatives.
At the Romanian PF, the Laboratory of Atomic Structures and Defects in Advanced Materials (LASDAM) at the National Institute of Materials Physics in Magurele, the Committee of Evaluators composed of Andrew Harrison, Luis Fonseca and Vega Lloveras14 has assessed the scientific output from the work associated with CERIC as good to excellent, with a significant volume of diverse work from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements and some high impact output from both (TEM) and Electronic Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) studies.
The excellence of the technical support staff has also been pointed out for TEM, EPR and sample preparation, whereas, although instruments are well maintained and perform very well, an upgrade has been recommended, particularly with regard to TEM.