Running projects
IMPULSE - Integrated Management and reliable oPerations for User-based Laser Scientific Excellence
The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) is the world’s most advanced laser user facility. It is among Europe’s important new international research infrastructures, an ESFRI Landmark. More than €850M was invested at three facilities in Central Europe, using European Regional Development Funds. The ELI facilities will merge to integrate and secure the sustainability of that investment. They will transition to operations as a single European Research Infrastructure Consortium. This IMPULSE, funded by a significant EU contribution, will bring resourcesand the experience of leading European laser facilities to bear to accelerate the transition to the operational phase and enhance sustainability. They will identify opportunities for technical synergies across Europe’s leading highpower, short-pulse laser centres. Developing best practices together to support the user experience, the project consortium will mitigate the risk of operating state-of-the-art, high-power, high repetition laser systems. They will develop the technologies contributing the most to that risk, and position ELI as a global platform for high-power laser development, driving innovation in the field. Together the partners will implement standards and practices supporting excellence and consistent quality for the users. The IMPULSE will scientifically demonstrate the performance and potential of each of the ELI facilities early in the operational program. An extensive analysis of the scientific community that can exploit ELI and other laser facilities will be carried out together with Laserlab Europe. That will be supported with extensive outreach activities to anchor the success of ELI’s scientific program with a broad community.
The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) is the world’s most advanced laser user facility. It is among Europe’s important new international research infrastructures, an ESFRI Landmark. More than €850M was invested at three facilities in Central Europe, using European Regional Development Funds. The ELI facilities will merge to integrate and secure the sustainability of that investment. They will transition to operations as a single European Research Infrastructure Consortium. This IMPULSE, funded by a significant EU contribution, will bring resourcesand the experience of leading European laser facilities to bear to accelerate the transition to the operational phase and enhance sustainability. They will identify opportunities for technical synergies across Europe’s leading highpower, short-pulse laser centres. Developing best practices together to support the user experience, the project consortium will mitigate the risk of operating state-of-the-art, high-power, high repetition laser systems. They will develop the technologies contributing the most to that risk, and position ELI as a global platform for high-power laser development, driving innovation in the field. Together the partners will implement standards and practices supporting excellence and consistent quality for the users. The IMPULSE will scientifically demonstrate the performance and potential of each of the ELI facilities early in the operational program. An extensive analysis of the scientific community that can exploit ELI and other laser facilities will be carried out together with Laserlab Europe. That will be supported with extensive outreach activities to anchor the success of ELI’s scientific program with a broad community.
Project number: 871161
Start date: 2020.11.01.
End date: 2024.04.30.
Funding programme: HORIZON 2020
Total budget: 19 993 665 EUR
Project partners:
Coo - ELI ERIC (Extreme Light Infrastructure European Research Infrastructure Consortium)
ELI Beamlines (FYZIKALNI USTAV AV CR V.V.I) - Project exit date: 2022.12.31.
ELI ALPS (ELI-HU Kutatási és Fejlesztési Nonprofit Közhasznú Korlátolt Felelősségű Társaság)
ELI-NP (Institutul National De Cercetare-Dezvoltare Pentru Fizica Si Inginerienucleara-Horia Hulubei)
TUDA (Technische Universitat Darmstadt)
STFC (Science and Technology Facilities Council, United Kingdom)
CLPU (Consorcio Para El Diseno, Construccion, Equipamiento y Explotacion Del Centro De Laseres Pulsados Ultracortes Ultraintensos)
LMU Muenchen (Ludvig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen)
CNR (Consoglio Nazionale delle Ricerche)
ELETTRA (Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste SCPA)
HZDR (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf EV)
IST (Instituto Superior Tecnico)
INFN (Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)
QUB (The Queen’s University of Belfast)
FORTH (Idryma Technologias Kai Erevnas)
Project website: https://impulse-project.eu/
The IMPULSE project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871161.
IMPRESS - Interoperable electron Microscopy Platform for advanced RESearch and Services
IMPRESS (Interoperable electron Microscopy Platform for advanced RESearch and Services) aims to co-develop and deliver advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM) instrumentation, methods and tools that will revolutionize the way in which TEMs are used by all new and well-established scientific communities, integrate them with other instrumentation at analytical research infrastructures (RIs) and create new business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises. The core of the project is the development of a standardized cartridge-based interoperable platform for TEM that is based on common interfaces and data formats, is flexible and adaptable and allows users to perform advanced correlative experiments using different instruments and to co-develop methodological options that are not yet satisfied by commercially available electron microscopes. The solutions will be delivered at technology readiness level 8 through a precommercial procurement. The project also involves the co-development of new electron sources, techniques based on adaptive optics and event-driven detectors, application-relevant in situ/operando sample environments and software for simulation of experiments and remote access based on artificial intelligence. By the end of the project, these developments will be integrated with the new cartridgebased platform, in order to make them available to all users of RIs and other TEMs owners. An open knowledge and innovation hub for TEM will be created and a training programme will promote the new solution, to initiate RI staff in their use and to provide both materials and life science communities with optimized tools for tackling societal challenges, especially in the energy and health sectors. The project will exploit synergies and collaboration with five RIs of European dimension for the benefit of users from diverse scientific communities and will pave the way towards a new cooperative model for the development and operation of RIs for TEM.
Project number: 101094299
Start date: 2023.02.01.
End date: 2027.01.31.
Funding programme: HORIZON 2020
Total budget: 9 633 919.25 EUR
Project partners:
Coo - CNR (Consoglio Nazionale delle Ricerche)
FZJ (Forscungszentrum Julich GMBH)
CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
UT3 (Universite Paul Sabatier Toulouse III. - Affiliated entity)
UPS (Universite Paris-Saclay - Affiliated entity)
Uantwerpen (Universiteit Antwerpen)
NTNU (Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet)
ICN2 (Fundacio Institut Catalia de Nanociencia i Nanotecnologia)
TUG (Technishe Universitaet Graz)
ZFE (Verein Zur Forderung Der Eletronenmikroskopie und Feinstructurforschung - Affiliated entity)
IFW (Leibniz Institut fur Festkorper und Werkstofforschung Dresden EV)
UM (Universiteit Maastricht)
AREA (Area di Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica di Trieste)
CERIC (Central European Research Infrastructure Consortium)
EURO-BIOIMAGING (Euro-Bioimaging ERIC)
EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory - Affiliated entity)
ALBA (Consorcio para la Construccion Equipamiento y Explotacion del Laboratorio de Luz Sincrotron)
SOLEIL (Synchrotron Soleil Societe Civile)
ELI ERIC (Extreme Light Infrastructure European Research Infrastructure Consortium)
CEOS (CEOS Corrected Electron Optical Systems GMBH)
CPS (Corvers Procurement Services BV)
Vtrek (E-Procurement Services BV)
Promo (Promoscience SRL)
UOXF (The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford - Associated partner)
Project website: https://e-impress.eu/
The IMPRESS project has received funding from the HORIZON EUROPE framework program for research and innovation under grant agreement n. 101094299.
STEFF - Strong-field electrodynamics in Flying Focus pulses
In this action, we propose a theoretical investigation of charged particle behavior in external laser fields using the recently-described “flying focus"" (FF) regime, a laser field setup which allows precise control of the position and velocity of its focus. This novel regime makes it possible to adjust the laser focus so that it co-propagates with the particle, including the situation when the particle is moving against the laser phase fronts. The resulting long laser-particle interaction time enabled by FF pulses is expected to significantly enhance radiation reaction, methods of particle beam control, and cumulative magnetic moment effects along the particle trajectories. In the classical relativistic framework, this will give us the possibility to test the equations of motion, which include radiation-reaction terms and Stern-Gerlach force in the case of particles with spin. In the quantum framework, we will first investigate analytically the probability of single photon emission by a high energy electron in a flying focus beam, and then study numerically the cascade emission of several photons (quantum radiation reaction). Finally, we will implement flying focus fields and the calculated probabilities of the quantum emission processes into the Particle-In-Cell code SMILEI. With this code, we will perform simulations of experimental setups exploiting flying focus fields in laser-particle interactions. Thus we will identify viable experiments that could lead for the first time to unambiguous radiation reaction detection, allow for methods of particle beam control, and enable us to probe quantum electrodynamics in the strong field regime.
Project number: 101105246
Start date: 2023.01.05.
End date: 2025.04.30.
Funding programme: HORIZON 2020
Total budget: 150 438.72 EUR
Project partners:
Coo - ELI ERIC (Extreme Light Infrastructure European Research Infrastructure Consortium)
MPG (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Wissenshaften EV - Associated partner)
The STEFF project has received funding from the HORIZON EUROPE framework program for research and innovation under grant agreement n. 101105246.
Probono - PROton BOron Nuclear fusion: from energy production to medical applicatiOns
Recent experiments with high-intensity lasers have shown record production of alpha particles by irradiating boron-hydrogen targets. This opens the way to completely new studies on pB fusion with multiple goals: i) studies related to nuclear fusion. The proton-boron fusion reaction produces 3 a-particles and releases a large energy. It is considered an interesting alternative to deuterium-tritium fusion because it produces no neutrons, therefore no activation and radioactive wastes. However, it is also considered too difficult due to the enormous temperatures needed to trigger it. Laser-driven experiments may offer an interesting nonthermal fusion approach, alternative to classical inertial fusion schemes. In addition, it will be possible to address still unanswered key questions like determining the penetration of a-particles in dense plasmas. ii) generation of novel laser-driven a-particle sources. Currently there are no high-current and compact aparticle sources (they are typically produced from radioactive materials or from accelerating He-ions in large-size cyclotrons). Laser-driven a-particle sources are promising due to the high brightness implied by the small size of the laser-plasma interaction point and the short particle bunch duration. Such sources could be used for multidisciplinary applications, including medical ones (e.g. radioisotope production for cancer therapy or PET). The Action's work will aim at understanding the physics involved in the emerging topic of laser-driven pB fusion, facilitating access to experimental infrastructures, maximizing production of new knowledge and achieving breakthrough discoveries, boosting career of young researchers by fostering opportunities for training, and finally interconnecting researchers across countries building a well-organized community focused on pB research.
Project number: CA21128
Start date: 2022.10.24.
End date: 2026.10.23.
Funding programme: COST - The European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Total budget: 124 993.50 EUR
Grant Holder: ELI ERIC (Extreme Light Infrastructure European Research Infrastructure Consortium)
Project website: https://www.ca-probono.eu/
COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. Our Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers. This boosts their research, career and innovation.
Heme-Proteins in Action: Novel insights into its Biology from Experiment and Theory
Heme-proteins are an important class of proteins carrying out several key processes of life. The heme-iron atom in heme-proteins shows a strong binding preference to some ligands which are root causes of clinical complexities such as CO poisoning & hypoxia. We aim to elucidate the mechanistic details, resolved in time, of the ligand-binding process in heme-protein using ultrafast X-ray techniques.
Project number: 22230257
Start date: 2023.01.22.
End date: 2024.06.30.
Funding programme: Strategic Grants funded by International Visegrad Fund
Total budget: 56 936 EUR
Project partners:
Coo - ELI ERIC (Extreme Light Infrastructure European Research Infrastructure Consortium)
IOC-PAS (Institute of Organic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Science)
IoB BCR (Institute of Biophysics, Biological Research Centre)
University oPavol Jozef Safarik in Kosice
Mount Saint Vincent University
EURIZON - European network for developing new horizons for RIs
This EURIZON project proposal is about European scientific and technical collaboration in the field of research infrastructures (RIs), and it includes in addition a special focus on coordination and support measures dedicated to support Ukrainian scientists and Ukrainian RIs as well as strengthening the RI landscape in Widening Countries. EURIZON is in fact the second part, or phase, of a four-year Horizon 2020 project that started in February 2020, under the name CREMLINplus. With the war against Ukraine that has begun in February 2022, the project was confronted with an absolutely extreme case of force majeure: the home country of 10 consortium participants – the Russian Federation – has invaded its neighbour country Ukraine, and has thus brought a devastating war into the heart of Europe. At the time when writing and submitting this proposal, the war is ongoing, and an end is not yet visible.The second phase of the project will keep a very high ambition, and will go beyond the current state of the art of collaboration around RIs, that has been already achieved in the first phase. The project will operate in two directions: (1) Technology development: the project allows European collaborative excellent teams to develop and deliver finest, new cutting-edge technologies for European RI including ESFRI landmarks and for RI upgrade projects currently underway, such as 4th-generation synchrotron projects, or for the instrumentation at modern neutron sources; (2) Strengthening RI landscape in Ukraine and in the Widening Countries: a number of coordination and support measures has been introduced in the second phase of the project to specifically support individual displaced scientists from Ukraine, to train RI staff at RI from Ukraine and Widening Countries, and to explore and develop science diplomacy measures dedicated to support the reconstruction of the Ukrainian RI landscape. The 27 European participants of the project have come together to build the broad and balanced consortium. They are the relevant entities in the domain of research infrastructures in Europe, and thus provide the necessary strength, commitment and power to implement the project plan.
Project number: 871072
Start date: 2020.02.01.
End date: 2024.01.31.
Funding programme: HORIZON 2020
Total budget: 21 767 360.43 EUR
Project partners:
Coo - DESY (Deutsches Elektronensynchrotron)
BINP (Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics of SB RUS) - Project exit date: 2022.05.14.
IAP RAS (Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences) - Project exit date: 2022.05.14.
ICISTE (International Centre for Innovations in Science, Technology and Education) - Project exit date: the day after the notification of termination
INR RAS (Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences) - Project exit date: 2022.05.14.
JINR (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research) - Project exit date: the day after the notification of termination
MEPhI (National Research Nuclear University) - Project exit date: 2022.05.14.
NRC KI (Russian Research Centre Kurchatov Institute) - Project exit date: 2022.05.14.
NUST MISIS (National University of Science and Technology MISIS) - Project exit date: 2022.05.14.
PTI (Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences) - Project exit date: 2022.05.14.
SPbU (Saint Petersburg State University) - Project exit date: 2022.05.14.
EKUT (Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen)
EUROPEAN XFEL ( European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility GMBH)
FAIR GMBH (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Europe GMBH)
FZJ (Forschungszentrum Julich GMBH)
GUF (Johann Wolfgang Geotheuniversitaet Frankfurt am Main)
HZG (Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon GMBH)
JLU (Justus-Liebig-Universitaet Giessen)
TUM (Technische Universitaet Muenchen)
CEA (Commissariat a L'energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives)
ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility)
ILL (Institute Man von Laue - Paul Langevin)
CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
UCA (Universite Clermont Auvergne)
ELI ERIC (Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC)
NPI CAS (Ustav Jaderne Fyziky AV CR)
MTA EK (Energiatudományi Kutatóközpont)
Wigner RCP (Wigner Fizikai Kutatóközpont)
INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)
UNIMIB (Universita' degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca)
CERN (Organisation Europeenne pour la Recherche Nucleaire)
WUT (Politechnika Warszawska)
ESS ERIC (European Spallation Source ERIC)
INR NASU (Institute for Nuclear Research of NAS of Ukraine)
LLE-AISBL (Laserlab-Europe AISBL)
NSC KIPT (National Science Center Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology) Project entry date: 2022.06.01.
STCU (Science and Technology Center in Ukraine)
The EURIZON project has received funding from the HORIZON EUROPE framework program for research and innovation under grant agreement n. 871072.
LOW TOXICITY RADIOTHERAPY (LOTO) - Advancing Cancer Treatment with Laser-Plasma Acceleration - preclinical testing
The Low Toxicity Radiotherapy (LOTO) project aims to develop a novel irradiation device using laser-plasma acceleration for precise and low-toxicity cancer treatment. By delivering high-energy electrons, LOTO offers superior dose accuracy and real-time tumor tracking, minimizing damage to healthy tissues. The project's preclinical phase involves testing the device on living cells and comparing its efficacy to conventional radiation sources. LOTO has the potential to revolutionize radiation oncology, providing highly effective and safe treatment options.
Project number: SIC/04-11/2023
Start date: 2023.06.01.
End date: 2023.10.31.
Funding programme: Transfer Voucher Programme funded by Central Bohemia Innovation Centre - SIC
Total budget: 650 000 CZK
Project partners:
Coo - ELI ERIC (Extreme Light Infrastructure European Research Infrastructure Consortium)
ERIC Forum 2 - Second implementation project for the ERIC Forum
The ERICs (European Research Infrastructure Consortia) represent one of the leading science policy voices in Europe and play a key role in structuring the research infrastructure landscape. Following the successful set-up and implementation of the ERIC Forum, further efforts are needed to consolidate its achievements and expand the coordination and monitoring of the ERICs. The ERIC Forum 2 project aims to structure the cooperation between ERICs, support the implementation of the ERIC Regulation and ERICs services, and to consolidate the integration of the ERICs in the European Research Area by deepening the ERIC Forum’s contribution to research policies. To reach its objectives, the project relies on a multi-disciplinary consortium involving all identified ERICs, both multi- and single-sited, and representing the five science clusters of the ERICs. The project is structured in four thematic pillars: 1) Monitoring and Reporting, 2) Reinforcing European research infrastructure policy and international cooperation; 3) Implementing the ERIC Regulation, strengthening capacities and identifying possible shared services; 4) Coordinating the project, Executive Board secretariat and communication. The activities carried out within the project will ensure the implementation of specific results on three key target groups: the ERICs and ERICs-to-be, in order to increase their knowledge and propose solutions for key aspects of the implementation of the ERIC Regulation; the policy-makers and stakeholders by setting-up and managing the new ERIC Forum monitoring and reporting platform, thus ensuring an easy access to updated and consolidated data and information about the ERICs; the users, as the project will investigate the sustainability and open access of its services, as well as address the challenges related to the commercial aspects of service provision.
Project number: 101124559
Start date: 2023.09.01.
End date: 2027.08.31.
Funding programme: HORIZON 2020
Total budget: 2 999 463.88 EUR
Project partners:
Coo - BBMRI (Biobanks and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure
Consortium)
ANAEE (Analysis and Experimentation on Ecosystems ERIC)
CERIC (Central European Research Infrastructure Consortium ERIC)
CESSDA (Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives ERIC)
CLARIN (Common Language Resources and Technology Infrastructure ERIC)
DARIAH (Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities)
EATRIS (European Infrastructure for Translational Medicine ERIC)
ECCSEL (European Research Infrastructure for CCUS technologies ERIC)
ECRIN (European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network ERIC)
ELI ERIC (Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC)
EMBRC (European Marine Biological Resource Centre ERIC)
EMSO (European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and Water Column Observatory - ERIC)
EPOS (European Plate Observing System - ERIC)
ESS (Social European Social Survey ERIC)
CITY (City University of (Affiliated entity)
EU-OPENSCREEN (European Infrastructure of Open Screening Platforms for Chemical Biology ERIC)
EURO-ARGO (EURO-ARGO ERIC)
The ERIC Forum 2 project has received funding from the HORIZON EUROPE framework program for research and innovation under grant agreement n. 101124559.
