The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), a social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, has released the list of research proposals selected during the fifth call for projects to use the facilities at Sirius, a synchrotron light source and Brazil’s largest scientific research infrastructure.

During this call for proposals, 443 projects were submitted and 161 were selected in the evaluation process. The experiments described in these successful proposals will be conducted on the ten beamlines currently operating at Sirius, between May and October 2025. 

Resubmission of proposals

During this fifth call, 66 of the total number of proposals were resubmissions, a new category in the selection process that allows researchers to resubmit proposals that offered promise during the previous evaluation but were not chosen. The selection rate for the resubmitted projects was 30%.  

This new category was created due to the highly competitive nature of the proposals in recent calls, and the large number of scientifically promising projects submitted. 

More figures: Researchers from all regions of Brazil accounted for 85% of the proposals submitted. Most of the Brazilian proposals came from researchers in the Southeast, especially the state of São Paulo, followed by the South, Northeast and North, respectively. The remainder came from researchers in 13 countries including Argentina, Russia, China and Canada. International proposals totaled 15% of the submissions. 

Every year, CNPEM holds two regular calls for scientific projects that involve the Sirius beamlines. The next call, for experiments that will be carried out during the first half of 2026, is scheduled to be held during the second half of 2025, depending on the availability of the particle accelerator facilities.  

More information on submitting proposals can be found at our Information for Users page.

About CNPEM

The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM’s research and development activities are carried out through its four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as its Technology Unit (DAT) and the Ilum School of Science — an undergraduate program in Science and Technology supported by the Ministry of Education (MEC).