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Finding the bigger picture

Imaging Earth Matters

The EXCITE Network is a European infrastructure initiative for scientists working on unravelling the secrets of Earth and Environmental materials by using some of the world’s best imaging facilities. Curious to see more? We can help you achieve your goals through access to advanced technology, teamwork and open science.

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Our network

The EXCITE Network makes leading-edge research facilities accessible to all Earth and Environmental scientists. We connect with you, offer access to workshops and webinars, help to prepare your proposals for facility access, and actively support your research goals.

Get access to our facilities

Third call for access is open now!

Open access

Positive impact

Forward science

About EXCITE

The EXCITE Network is a Horizon Europe infrastructure tailored to advance the imaging of Earth and Environmental materials. Thirty-six facilities in twelve countries join hands, committed to facilitating your scientific progress and making a positive impact on research, industry, and society.

About us

Research

The European EXCITE Network offers you a chance to use excellent imaging facilities and to team up with leading Earth and Environmental materials scientists. Develop new collaborations, join cross-disciplinary initiatives and execute progressive imaging projects that help advance Earth and Environmental materials research.

About our research

Creating progress

Excite Australia

Curtin University is the Australian EXCITE partner.

Curtin University (CURTIN)

Excite Belgium

The Expertise Centre for X-ray Tomography (UGCT) at Ghent University in Flanders is the Belgian EXCITE network partner, concentrating on giving access to multi-phase fluid flow experiments, weathering of building materials and geomechanical testing.

Universiteit Gent (UGent)

Excite Czech Republic

The Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) of Brno University is the Czech EXCITE network partner.

Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC)

Excite France

The National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) participates with the CrystalProbe-Montpellier infrastructure that is hosted by the University of Montpellier. The DMEX Centre for X-ray Imaging at the University of Pau (UPPA) and Laboratoire 3SR of the University of Grenoble offer forward X-ray imaging solutions.

Universite de Pau et de Pavs de l’Adour (UPPA)

University of Montpellier – Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Excite Germany

Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden – Rossendorf e.V. (HZDR), Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) and RWTH Aachen University (RWTH) are EXCITE partners, focusing on sharing 2D and 3D chemical imaging techniques, nanoscale studies of Earth materials, data acquisition and crystallographic analysis.

RWTH Aachen University (RWTH)

Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF)

Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam – Deutsches GeoForschungs Zentrum (GFZ)

Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR)

Excite Hungary

The Nanolab at University of Pannonia is the Hungarian EXCITE network partner.

University of Pannonia (UP)

Excite Italy

With the INGV-RM1 Microanalytical, FESEM/EMPA HPHT Lab in Rome and the INGV-OV X-ray microCT lab in Naples, the Italian Istituto Nazionale Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) supports innovative microanalysis, chemical Earth-material research and 3D imaging and quantification.

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)

Excite Norway

At the University of Oslo (UiO), the nanoCT SkyScan211 and microCT SKyscan 1172 facilities focus on materials application from a multidisciplinary research perspective. The Norwegian Centre for Nanoscale X-ray Tomography (NEXT) of NTNU Trondheim is adding its X-ray imaging expertise to the network.

Norges Teknisknaturvitensk apelige Universitet (NTNU)

Universitetet i Oslo (UiO)

Excite Portugal

The Portuguese Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI) gives access to both electron probe microanalyzers at Lisbon (JEOL JXA-8200) and Porto (JEOL JXA-8500F). UBI is participating in EXCITE with third parties LNEG, FCUL and FCUP.[MGt(1] The science teams and facilities support routine mineral chemical analysis, as well as advanced chemical mapping.

Universidade do Porto (FCUP)

Excite Spain

The Centro de Instumentación Científica (CIC) at the University of Granada in Spain houses a complete set of analytical equipment and a sample preparation unit, including installations for high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and high-resolution X-ray microtomography.

Universidad de Granada (UGR)

Excite The Netherlands

The Dutch UU Electron Microscopy Centre of Utrecht University (UU) and the X-ray Imaging Facility at TU Delft offer modern imaging facilities for nanoscale manipulation and 3D visualization, automated crystallography and mineralogy, and in-situ experimentation.

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Utrecht University (UU)

Excite UK

The Department of Earth Sciences and the Wolfson Electron Microscopy Suite at the University of Cambridge, support the characterisation of natural and synthetic materials across multiple length scales (millimetres to Ångströms). The University of Edinburgh provides access to a custom-built MicroCT microtomography system for experiments and data acquisition.

University of Edinburgh (UEDIN)

University of Cambridge (UCAM)

Excite Australia

Excite Belgium

Excite Czech Republic

Excite France

Excite Germany

Excite Hungary

Excite Italy

Excite Norway

Excite Portugal

Excite Spain

Excite The Netherlands

Excite UK

Transnational Access

Would you like to access the EXCITE2 imaging facilities? The third call for access is open now! Click here if you want to learn more about writing a proposal to gain access.

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The research facilities and scientific support of the EXCITE Network are open to scientists globally. Even if you work outside the European Union and its associated countries you are welcome to join us!

Proposals

Good science proposals need excellent facilities and science support to become great. The EXCITE Network is offering you exactly that: our state-of-the-art imaging facilities and expert science teams help you deliver cutting-edge research projects, empower you with international collaborations, and help you to make the most of your valuable research time.

News

May 15 2025

Relive EGU25 from EXCITE perspective

April 18 2025

EXCITE2 Third Transnational Access call open!

April 8 2025

Recap: CEITEC Workshop on Multi-scale Imaging – Advancing Imaging Techniques Across Scales

Curious to learn more?

Interested in gaining access to the EXCITE2 facilities? Please enter your email address and be one of the first to be informed when we open the next EXCITE2 call for proposals. Other questions? Contact us here.

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