On 5 May, MAX IV visited Karlstad University as part of the MAX IV Roadshow. During the visit, both current research opportunities and future plans for the world leading synchrotron radiation facility in Lund were presented. Joachim Schnadt, Science Director at MAX IV, gave a broad introduction to the facility and its scientific capabilities.
“Going out and speaking directly with people at universities is crucial for showing what MAX IV is, what the facility can be used for, and the opportunities the infrastructure offers,” says Joachim Schnadt.
An infrastructure for many research fields
MAX IV provides advanced methods in X‑ray imaging, scattering and diffraction, as well as spectroscopy, with applications ranging from life sciences and medicine to energy, the environment and advanced materials. Today, 16 beamlines are in operation, covering a wide energy range from 4 eV to 40 keV.
Each year, the facility is used by around 2,000 researchers from many different disciplines. Forty‑two per cent of users come from Swedish institutions, and usage from Karlstad University has increased in recent years.
To gain access to MAX IV, researchers submit so‑called proposals, which are evaluated through scientific peer review. There are two main routes of access: through open user calls or via longer‑term collaborations and projects.
From paper straws to medical research
During the presentation, Joachim Schnadt showed several concrete examples of research recently conducted at MAX IV. One widely noted example was how Tetra Pak used the facility to develop paper‑based drinking straws as a replacement for plastic, in line with the EU ban on single‑use plastics.
He also presented new and upcoming initiatives, including:
- TomoWISE – a new beamline for tomography, planned to start around 2029. This will be the first entirely new beamline since 2018.
- MedMAX – a beamline with a focus on medical research.
From autumn 2026, MAX IV will also introduce a travel support programme for researchers from universities outside Malmö and Lund, aimed at facilitating access to the facility.
MAX IV Upgrade
The visit also included a presentation on the future of MAX IV. A planned upgrade, MAX 4U, is intended to ensure that the facility remains internationally competitive.
When it was inaugurated in 2016, MAX IV was the world’s first fourth‑generation synchrotron radiation facility. Since then, similar facilities have been built in other countries, and competition has increased. The goal of the upgrade is to further improve performance by around 2030 and thereby strengthen MAX IV’s global position.
“The challenge is not only technical, but also scientific – to think ahead together with researchers and identify which new research questions will become possible with the enhanced capacity,” says Joachim Schnadt.
Interested in using MAX IV?
MAX IV has many application areas, and several research fields at Karlstad University could benefit from conducting experiments there. If you have an idea and would like to learn more about the possibilities, please contact Cleber Marchiori or Hanmin Zhang at the Department of Physics.
- Cleber Marchiori
- Hanmin Zhang
More information:
