The EIC-Pathfinder Challenge X-SeeO2 Consortium Holds Its Kick-Off Meeting
On Thursday, October 9, and Friday, October 10, the EIC-Pathfinder Challenge X-SeeO2 consortium — “Real-time X-ray diffraction and microstructure imaging: accelerating the transformation of cementitious materials into CO₂ sinks” — held its kick-off meeting at the Ada Byron Research Building, Malaga, Spain, where participants were warmly welcomed by its director, Prof. Manuel Díaz.
Members of the Cement Science group – UMA, led by Prof. Miguel Ángel García Aranda, coordinator of the consortium, and Prof. Maria Angeles Gómez de la Torre, fellow principal investigator, took part in the meeting, and will be actively involved in the development of X-SeeO2. The event also brought together other consortium members, both in person and online, involving representatives from the University of Bath, the University of Manchester, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), and several leading experts in their respective fields. In addition, representatives of the Horizon Europe – European Innovation Council (EIC) program joined the sessions, offering their institutional and scientific support to this new initiative funded by the European Union.
Over the two days, the sessions were intense and highly productive, allowing participants to establish the roadmap for the coming months and define the strategic lines that will guide the project’s development.
The knowledge generated by X-SeeO2 will be essential as an “enabling technology.” The advanced analytical techniques that already position the University of Málaga (UMA) as a benchmark — such as X-ray powder diffraction (PD) using synchrotron and laboratory sources, and micro-computed tomography (mCT) — will be employed to accelerate and enhance the products and technologies of other innovation projects selected under this same EIC Pathfinder Challenge call within Horizon Europe.
PORTFOLIOWith this inaugural meeting, the consortium launches a key phase of international scientific cooperation under the EIC Pathfinder Challenge program, reinforcing its commitment to cutting-edge innovation and progress toward a more sustainable future.
