The Centre for X-ray and Nano Science (CXNS), is a cooperation of DESY with the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (Geesthacht) and the Christians-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU). Moreover, two further partners joined the CXNS in 2020: the Technische Universität Hamburg (TUHH) as part of the Center for Integrated Multiscale Material Systems (CIMMS) and the Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ Berlin).

The construction of the new CXNS research building on the DESY campus started in autumn 2018 and was finalised in summer 2021. In addition to several research groups from DESY, this building houses the DESY NanoLab as well as the German Engineering Materials Science Centre (GEMS) of Hereon and the Ruprecht Haensel Laboratory (RHL), a long-standing cooperation between the CAU and DESY. The idea of this new centre is to establish a new state-of-the-art laboratory infrastructure for five strong research partners.

The CXNS is providing excellent possibilities for sample preparation, direct connection to all mayor DESY light sources and complementary research methods.
These five strong research partners are working together at the CXNS and use its excellent facilities either at the CXNS or in close vicinity at DESY large-scale X-ray facilities. Further on, the CXNS is hosting the DESY Photon Science User Office.