Relativistic Ultrafast Electron Diffraction and Imaging (RUEDI) will be the most powerful high energy electron microscope in the world for ultrafast imaging and the world's fastest electron diffraction facility.
It will provide the UK with a significant competitive advantage to observe, quantify and understand irreversible ultrafast processes.
RUEDI will drive forward scientific discoveries and advances in sustainable energy, advanced materials and quantum technologies, and structural biology.
These unparalleled capabilities will allow scientists to study dynamic changes such as:
- the underlying atomic diffusion mechanisms leading to sustainable energy generation, storage and conversion technologies
- biological function within living cells for better drug design
- the structural integrity of materials during explosions, earthquakes and advanced manufacturing processes
- the interplay between electrical and magnetic fields driving quantum computing and technologies
All of these fundamental biological and chemical processes and the reactions they lead to can be studied in a way that has not been possible before.
RUEDI will enable researchers to directly observe and measure fundamental dynamic structural and chemical processes in materials as they happen in real time rather than static before and after structures. This will provide unprecedented new insights and understanding to deliver transformative innovations.
Experiments using RUEDI compared to more established techniques could be likened to the difference between observing all the action taking place in a football match rather than just the final score.
It will be based at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Daresbury campus in Cheshire and is to receive £124.4 million from the UKRI Infrastructure Fund.
It is a partnership between the University of Liverpool, ASTeC at STFC Daresbury Laboratory, and the Rosalind Franklin Institute.
Prof Jim Clarke, head of ASTeC said “This is fantastic news for ASTeC and Daresbury and will create a brand-new user facility in the Electron Hall! This is a huge investment for the site and for ASTeC. Congratulations to everyone involved."
