\ Press \ Comunicati Stampa \ Revolutionizing Electron Microscopy: IMPRESS-PCP Call for Tenders Unveils Opportunities for Innovative Companies

The opening of the IMPRESS Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) Call for Tenders marks a significant milestone in advancing the frontiers of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The IMPRESS PCP process presents an extraordinary opportunity for innovative companies to collaborate in crafting a cutting-edge interoperable platform for TEM.

The IMPRESS project, funded by the European Union, envisions a paradigm shift in TEM through the introduction of an innovative interoperable platform. This platform, characterized by standardized hardware and software interfaces and multifunctional components, aims to transcend current limitations in TEM. Based on a modular cartridge concept and open designs, it will create solutions that can be transferred interchangeably along the microscope column, between microscopes and across instruments.

Bid Submission
Technology providers keen on participating in the IMPRESS PCP Call for Tenders must register their companies on Subreport, accessible via the following link. Once registered, access to the Subreport platform allows for bid submission, document downloads, notifications and more via the following link.

Key deadlines to note for bid submission:

• 30th January 2024 (13:00 hrs CET): Deadline to make comments on the IPR clauses
• 1st March 2024 (13:00 hrs CET): Deadline to submit questions
• 29th March 2024 (13:00 hrs CET): Bid submission deadline

The contact address for any questions related to the content of the IMPRESS-PCP Call for Tenders is: impress-pcp@fz-juelich.de. In addition, Subreport has a helpdesk in case of questions or problems related to the use of the Subreport platform (oliver.mueller@subreport.de; oliver.schulze@subreport.de).

For clarifications or queries regarding the PCP procedure, a comprehensive Q&A list addressing technical matters, open innovation and PCP issues is available on the IMPRESS website, here.

To foster collaboration among companies and facilitate meeting the tender criteria, a Matchmaking Tool is available on the IMPRESS website, here. This tool enables interested parties to form partnerships, facilitating exchanges of expertise, skills and resources among potential partners whose needs align.

Further details about the IMPRESS-PCP Call for Tenders and bid submission guidelines are provided at this link.

IMPRESS PCP: The Way Forward
“The IMPRESS PCP Call for Tenders invites all interested parties to present their bids to develop an innovative interoperable platform based on correlative, adaptable and transferable cartridges with a standardized interface”, points out Regina Ciancio, the IMPRESS Project Coordinator.

Once the PCP Call for Tenders concludes, selected companies with a diverse set of scientific and technological expertise will engage in a competitive three-phase development journey to develop the interoperable platform. The initial phase involves designing innovative solutions and verifying their technical and economic feasibility. The most promising prototypes will undergo development and testing at the lead procurer’s facilities during the second phase. The final phase will witness testing and validation of the chosen prototypes in operational environments.

“The interoperable platform could be implemented on different transmission electron microscopes from different microscope manufacturers, other analytical instruments, and could be adapted by individual users to meet their unmet scientific needs to obtain innovative solutions”, says Rafal Dunin-Borkowski, the IMPRESS Project Scientific Coordinator.

Collaborative endeavors between companies, scientists and end-users will culminate in establishing the IMPRESS innovation ecosystem. This Research & Innovation journey presents an exciting opportunity for companies to expand the horizons of TEM, unlocking business prospects and easing access to new sectors and markets.

About IMPRESS
IMPRESS (Interoperable electron Microscopy Platform for advanced RESearch and Services) is a cutting-edge Horizon Europe Research & Innovation project aimed at transforming the field of transmission electron microscopy. Bringing together 19 partners from 11 European countries, the project will develop a new generation of instrumentation that is flexible and adaptable. Based on open standards, interfaces, data formats and interchangeable components, the platform will allow for customized, interoperable arrangements.

For more information about the IMPRESS project, visit the IMPRESS website and follow the project on LinkedIn.

IMPRESS-PCP LIST OF PROCURERS

• Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZ Jülich), Germany (Lead Procurer)
• Area di Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica di Trieste (AREA), Italy
• Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Italy
• Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) ERIC, Czech Republic
• Fundacio Institut Catala de Nanociencia i Nanotecnologia (ICN2), Spain
• Leibniz Institut für Festkörper und Werkstoffforschung Dresden EV (IFW), Germany
• Universiteit Antwerpen (UAntwerp), Belgium