"The AL-NANOFUNC project has been designed to install and fully develop at the Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS, CSIC-Univ.Seville, Spain) an advanced laboratory for the Nano-analysis of novel functional materials. Advanced Nanoscopy facilities, based on latest generation electron microscopy equipments, will be devoted to breakthrough research in specific topics of high interest: i) Nanomaterials for sustainable energy applications; ii) protective and multifunctional thin film and nanostructured coatings; iii) nanostructured photonic materials and sensors.To take the ICMS laboratories to a leading position that is competitive in a world-wide scenario, the AL-NANOFUNC project is contemplated to up-grade the actual research potential in several directions: i) improve equipment capabilities regarding the Analytical High Resolution Electron Microscopy facilities; ii) improve the impact and excellence of basic research through hiring of experienced researchers and transnational exchange with the reference centers in Europe; iii) develop and improve the innovation potential of the ICMS’s research by opening the new facilities to companies and stakeholders; iv) organize workshops and conferences, dissemination and take-up activities to improve research visibility.Close collaborations with reference centers and companies in Liège (Belgium), Graz (Austria), Jülich (Germany), Oxford (England), Cambridge (England), Dübendorf (Switzerland) and Rabat (Morocco), as well as with laboratories at Andalucian Universities, are foreseen in this project.Five companies in Andalusia will also collaborate in close synergies to promote the long-term strategic lines of interest for the region in the natural and artificial stone products and solar and renowable energy sectors."