The Region Behind a Third of the World's Electron Microscopes Heads to Liverpool

Brnoregion Microscopy heads to IMC21 to show how a regional ecosystem generates world-class impact and is open to international talents and partners.

BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC, August 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Global manufacturers, leading research institutions, universities and startups from the Brno Region are joining forces at the 21st International Microscopy Congress (IMC21) in Liverpool. Represented by the Brnoregion Microscopy platform, they will showcase how more than 70 years of expertise and close regional collaboration have made Brno a global hub for developing, manufacturing and using electron microscopes – and invite international talent and partners to become part of this ecosystem.

According to the OEC (2024), electron microscopes rank among the seven most complex products traded in the world, and Brno is one of the few places that masters it end to end. The region combines a trio of world-class producers – Tescan, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Delong Instruments – with research and education at CEITEC, Masaryk University, Brno University of Technology, Mendel University, the Institute of Scientific Instruments and the Institute of Physics of Materials of the Czech Academy of Sciences, together with the Czechoslovak Microscopy Society.

These top research workplaces systematically train new talents and push the field forward, and the region's companies stand on this foundation: they employ more than 3,000 people and generate a combined turnover of around €1.5 billion. Roughly a third of the world's electron microscopes are made in Brno.

The strength of that ecosystem is increasingly visible on the global stage thanks to its startups, too. NenoVision has developed a compact atomic force microscope that works inside a scanning electron microscope – and in 2025 its technology was put to work by US chip giant NVIDIA to trace defects that conventional tools were missing. AdvaScope is building hybrid pixel detectors sensitive enough to register every single electron. BeamShape brings electron-beam melting to metal 3D printing, and Lightigo develops analytical instruments for rapid elemental analysis based on Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy – to name just a few which will be present at the congress.

The Brnoregion Microscopy platform empowered by the innovation agency JIC exists to deepen this collaboration and open it to the world. At IMC21, booth 436 serves as the gateway into it, with a QR Quiz Game offering an interactive way to explore the community.

"Visitors can get an overview of the whole ecosystem, find the right direction and contacts for research, technology, business or talent, and discover opportunities for collaboration across academia and industry," says Radka Novák, Brnoregion Microscopy Coordinator from the innovation agency JIC.

Throughout the congress, members and partners of the platform will also contribute to talks, poster sessions and other scientific activities across the programme – a reflection of the region's dual strength in both building instruments and using them for frontier research.

Brnoregion Microscopy's mission to Liverpool is taking place under the Centre for International Trade project, run by the Brno Regional Chamber of Commerce with financial support from the City of Brno. IMC21 takes place from 31 August to 4 September 2026 in Liverpool.

Jana Pokorná
JIC
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