CERN Accelerating science

ATTRACT: breAkThrough innovaTion pRogrAmme for a pan-European Detection and Imaging eCosysTem

The ATTRACT Phase-1 project proposes a new collaboration paradigm aligned with the ‘Open Science, Open Innovation and Open to the World’ philosophy. Its objective is the identification and initial development of breakthrough detection and imaging technology concepts for expanding fundamental research frontiers and suitable for future industrial upscaling for novel applications and business. It promotes the involvement of national and pan-European Research Infrastructures and their associated research communities, industrial organizations (especially SMEs) and innovation and business specialists. It proposes a co-innovation approach in which scientific and industrial communities jointly pursue and generate breakthrough concepts in close and equal partnership. The project implementation starts with the launch of an Open Call by the project consortium for €18 million of financial support to Third-Parties. The proposals received will be peer-reviewed by an Independent R&D&I Committee of top experts in the field of detection and imaging technologies. After this process 180 breakthrough technology concepts will receive €100,000 of seed funding each (“lump sum”) to develop the concepts further during one year. The funded projects will then present their results in a Final Assessment Conference in Brussels. The ATTRACT Phase-1 consortium members will provide business assessments to the funded project teams to enhance awareness of future commercial applications. Furthermore, two pilots based on design thinking methodologies will be run for/ with interdisciplinary master level students, aimed at discovering and generating social value applications inspired by the technologies of the funded projects. The ATTRACT Phase-1 project consortium comprises top partners capable of catalysing a large variety of key stakeholders towards a future unique European innovation ecosystem. 

Coordinator: CERN, Switzerland

Scientist in Charge from CERN: 
Pablo Garcia Tello

Full costs of the project: 20 M€ 
(18 M€ are for Third Party Funding)

EU funding: 20 M€

EU funding for CERN: 877 K€ 
(not counting 18 M€ funding to Third Parties)

1 August 2018- 31 December 2020

AMICI: Accelerator and Magnet Infrastructure for Cooperation and Innovation

AMICI is supported by 10 Research laboratories who are contributing to the construction of Research Infrastructures in Europe. The objective of the AMICI project is to engage the Technological Infrastructure which is currently dedicated to European science-based accelerators and large SC magnets with a new, efficient and sustainable collaboration/production model by means of Cooperation and Innovation. By establishing an open Technological Infrastructure with European industry and SMEs, research laboratories would enhance the competence of their industrial partners by training personnel and sharing know-how to increase the impact of industry on the construction of future Research Infrastructures.

Coordinator: CEA, France

Scientist in Charge from CERN:
Maurizio Vretenar

Full costs of the project: 2.3 M€

EU funding: 2.3 M€

EU funding for CERN: 200 k€

1 January 2017 - 30 June 2019

EURIZON: European network for developing new horizons for RIs

The EU funded EURIZON project focuses on European scientific and technical collaboration in the field of research infrastructures (RIs). It aims at strengthening the RI landscape in Europe. EURIZON is in fact the second phase of a four-year Horizon 2020 project that started in February 2020, under the name CREMLINplus, and which had a focus on strengthening collaboration between Europe and Russia in the domain of RIs. The CERN participation within EURIZON focuses on software development for future lepton colliders and on a school about particle detectors.

Coordinator: DESY, Germany

Scientist in Charge from CERN: Lucie Linssen

Full costs of the project: 25 M€

EU funding: 25 M€

EU funding for CERN: 321 k€

1 February 2020  – 31 July 2024

QUACO: QUAdrupoleCOrrector

QUACO is a Pre-Commercial Procurement project for the design, R&D and industrial prototyping of high-tech quadrupole magnets that will be used for focusing the beams for the high luminosity upgrade of the LHC. QUACO is coordinated by CERN and brings together 3 other research infrastructures (CEA, CIEMAT and NCBJ) who will contribute to the magnet development and public procurement.

Coordinator: CERN, Switzerland

Scientist in Charge from CERN:
Marcello Losasso

Full costs of the project: 6.6 M€ 

EU funding: 4.6 M€

EU funding for CERN: 3.9 M€

1 Mar 2016 - 31 Mar 2021

RI-PATHS: Charting Impact Pathways of Investment in Research Infrastructures

The aim of the project is to develop a model describing the socio-economic impact of research infrastructures and of their related financial investments. The model will be developed in a modular manner adapting it to a broad range of scientific domains and types of infrastructures. The project outcomes are expected to contribute to a common approach at international level and facilitate investments in research infrastructures by funding agencies and other stakeholders. 

Coordinator: EFIS Centre, Belgium

Scientist in Charge from CERN:
Johannes Gutleber

Full costs of the project: 1.5 M€ 

EU funding: 1.5 M€

EU funding for CERN: 124 k€

1 Jan 2018 - 30 Jun 2020

Opening Synchrotron Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East

OPEN SESAME aims to ensure efficient exploitation of the Synchrotron light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME) large-scale research infrastructure by researchers across the SESAME Members and further afield in the Middle East. OPEN SESAME has three key objectives: 1) to train SESAME staff in the storage ring and beamline instrumentation technology, research techniques and administration for optimal use of a modern light source facility; 2) to build-up human capacity in SESAME Region researchers to optimally exploit SESAME’s infrastructure; 3) to train SESAME staff and its user community in public outreach and corporate communications, and to support SESAME and its stakeholders in building awareness and demonstrating its socio-economic impact to assure longer term exploitation.

Coordinator: ESRF, France

Scientist in Charge from CERN:
James Gillies

Full costs of the project: 2.1 M€ 

EU funding: 2 M€

EU funding for CERN: 100 k€

1 January 2017 - 31 December 2019

CREMLIN: Connecting Russian and European Measures for Large-scale Research Infrastructures

CREMLIN aims at fostering scientific cooperation between the Russian Federation and the European Union in the development and scientific exploitation of large-scale research infrastructures. It has been triggered by the recent so-called megascience projects initiative launched by and in the Russian Federation which is now very actively seeking European integration. The proposed megascience facilities have an enormous potential for the international scientific communities and represent a unique opportunity for the EU to engage in a strong collaborative framework with the Russian Federation. CREMLIN will effectively contribute to better connect Russian RIs to the European Research Area.

Coordinator: DESY, Germany

Scientist in Charge from CERN:
Lucie Linssen

Full costs of the project: 1.7 M€ 

EU funding: 1.7 M€

EU funding for CERN: 76 k€

1 September 2015 - 31 August 2018

FCCIS: Future Circular Collider Innovation Study

FCCIS will deliver a conceptual design and an implementation plan for a new research infrastructure, consisting of a 100 km long, circular tunnel and a dozen surface sites. It will initially host an electron-positron particle collider. With an energy frontier hadron collider as a second step, it can serve a world-wide community through the end of the 21st century. 
This project will validate the key performance enablers at particle accelerators. Extreme luminosities, a factory producing a million Higgs bosons, luminosities up to 100 times the present world record with parts-per-million energy precision will strengthen Europe’s leadership in excellent science for many decades. This project will attract academic and industrial leaders to develop a feasible and affordable project that incorporates ecodesign and resource efficiency from an early stage onwards. The project includes work with the host states France and Switzerland to ensure that the infrastructure blends in with the territorial boundary conditions. A socio-economic impact analysis will reveal the added value that this infrastructure will generate during its first phase and serve as the basis for developing a funding and implementation plan. This project emphasizes the user capacity building process with theoretical and experimental physicists at an international scale to ensure an exploitation of the facility from the start.

Coordinator: CERN, Switzerland

Scientist in Charge from CERN: 
Michael Benedikt

Full costs of the project: 7.4 M€ 

EU funding: 3 M€ 

EU funding for CERN: 0 k€

2 November 2020 - 1 November 2024

STRONG-2020: The strong interactions at the frontier of knowledge - fundamental research and applications 

The strong interaction is one of the cornerstones of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, and its experimental and theoretical study attracts an active community of about 2500 researchers in Europe. The list of fundamental open questions at the frontier of our current knowledge in the strong interaction is very rich and varied including a full understanding of (i) the partonic structure of hadrons, (ii) exotic hadronic states, properties of (iii) dense quark matter and of (iv) hot and dense quark-gluon plasma, as well as (v) precision tests of the SM. The STRONG-2020 project brings together many of the leading research groups and infrastructures involved today in the study of the strong interaction in Europe, and also exploits the innovation potential in applied research through the development of detector systems with applications beyond fundamental physics, e.g. for medical imaging and information technology. 

More information about the Transnational Access to CERN in the framework of the STRONG-2020 project can be found here. 

Coordinator: CNRS, France

Scientist in Charge from CERN: 
David d'Enterria

Full costs of the project: 10 M€ 

EU funding: 10 M€

EU funding for CERN: 200 k€

1 June 2019 - 31 May 2023