Yesterday, 19 August 2026, Sandvik Coromant hosted the ESS Innovation Day 2026, in Sandviken, Sweden. The event is the fifth edition to bring together research directors from leading companies and universities, to explore how industry can leverage the new opportunities offered by the international research facility European Spallation Source (ESS). The discussion focused on how neutron science can contribute to creating impactful R&D in European academia and industry.
“I’m very happy with the outcome of the day. Bringing industry and research together creates an opportunity to listen, learn from each other and better understand where advanced research capabilities can make a difference. Working with leading research facilities such as the European Spallation Source, gives us access to advanced capabilities and new insights. By combining these with our knowledge of materials and manufacturing, we can deepen our understanding and explore how these insights can be applied in different areas. We will build on what we’ve learned today and turn some of these conversations into new collaborations going forward”, says Marco Zwinkels, VP Sandvik Coromant, the world’s leading Swedish manufacturer of metal-cutting tools, tooling systems, and digital machining software.
The ESS Innovation Day was set up to engage future industrial users with the benefit that ESS offers for their sustained and competitive R&D. As ESS prepares for operations in 2028, this year’s meeting underscores ESS’s ongoing effort to engage researchers from both academia and industry in the science and innovation that the facility will enable.
“All the links in the chain, from a good idea or a new research question to a product, process or high-impact scientific publication, need to be equally strong and, in particular, connected. ESS is a key link in the chain. Therefore, close and collaborative dialogue with future users, both within the scientific community and in industry, is crucial to ensure that our instruments and neutron research provide the new insights to help solve the major challenges of our time”, says Helmut Schober, ESS Director General.
Presentations focused on both applications of neutrons and policy policies for sustained competitiveness in Europe. A panel discussion, “From Lab to Global Stage: How to manage winning R&D today and tomorrow?”, brought together Marco Zwinkels, VP Sandvik Coromant, Laurence Mott, former Global Research Director at Tetra Pak, Lisa Thelin, Project Director IVA, and Lars Stenqvist, Senior Adviser Volvo Group. Another panel with Susanne Norgren, CTO Sandvik, Björn Savén, IVA and HLIF Daniel Söderberg, Professor KTH and Lars Hultman, CEO SSF, discussed ’Smart strategies to fund competitive Innovation’.
In his keynote presentation, Peter Hedström, Professor at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), described the very concrete work being done at the competence centre NEXT, centred around neutrons and large-scale research infrastructures.
The ESS Innovation Day is an initiative of the ESS High Level Industrial Forum, an advisory body made up of leading industrialists: Laurence Mott, Lars Börjesson, Håkan Björklund, Mene Pangalos, Björn Savén, Maria Strömme and Johan Söderström.
