How are the metallic materials that will enable the technologies of the future designed, manufactured and characterised?

This was the central question of the AM2C3 Summer School, held this month at IMDEA Materials Institute, which brought together researchers, PhD students and experts from several countries for a nine-day intensive programme dedicated to additive manufacturing and advanced materials.

Participants from project coordinator the University of Cyprus (UCY), together with partners IMDEA Materials, Norway’s Foundation for Industrial and Technical Research (SINTEF) (Norway) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) took part.

You can find photos from the event on our Flickr account here.

They explored topics ranging from metal powders, alloy design and microstructure engineering to multiscale modelling, sustainability, biomaterials, and applications in the space and energy sectors.

The programme combined lectures from leading researchers representing universities, research centres and industry from Europe and the United States with extensive hands-on training covering the complete workflow of additive manufacturing research.

Across a series of practical workshops and training sessions, participants learned how to prepare samples, carry out materials characterisation and mechanical testing, and use Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) to analyse the microstructure of 3D-printed materials, revealing crystal orientations and the relationship between processing, microstructure and material performance.

The Summer School, organised by IMDEA Materials Principal Investigator Prof. María Teresa Pérez Prado, forms part of the AM2C3 (Additive Manufacturing and Advanced Materials Competence Centre) project, which aims to strengthen research excellence and establish a world-class competence centre for additive manufacturing at UCY.  

Through collaboration between research centres from four countries, the project promotes knowledge transfer, researcher training and staff exchanges, providing access to advanced facilities and expertise while fostering long-term scientific collaboration and innovation in additive manufacturing.

Beyond the scientific programme, the event also provided an excellent opportunity for participants to exchange ideas, establish new collaborations and strengthen the European additive manufacturing community through networking sessions and practical discussions.

IMDEA Materials Institute would like to sincerely thank all of the speakers, participants and organisers for making the Summer School such a success.

The Summer School was organised as part of the AM2C3 (Additive Manufacturing and Advanced Materials Competence Centre in Cyprus) project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Twinning programme (Grant Agreement No. 101159727), which aims to strengthen research excellence and foster international collaboration in additive manufacturing and advanced materials.