CERN has received EU funding for 13 new projects following applications for calls announced in 2025, the highest number in one single year since at least 2007.
In total, CERN was involved in 17 project proposals under various Research Infrastructures calls – a section of the EU’s R&D framework programme, Horizon Europe.
Of the funded projects, CERN will lead the coordination of five. Those projects are: ATTRACT EXPAND, EPITA, iRIS, PRISMAP+, and RADNEXT 2030.
"We're very pleased at not only the number of new projects, but the variety and quality of them,” said Svetlomir Stavrev, team leader of CERN’s EU Projects Office. “With competition for EU funding increasing, it is further validation of CERN's excellence to receive such positive results.”
Two of the five projects coordinated by CERN, EPITA and RADNEXT 2030, received the maximum proposal evaluation score of 15/15, and ranked top in highly competitive calls.
All the projects will kick off in 2026 at various times around spring and early summer.
| Project acronym | Coordinator | CERN scientist | CERN department |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATTRACT EXPAND | CERN | Pablo Garcia Tello | IPT |
| EPITA | CERN | Toms Torims | ATS-DO |
| iRIS | CERN | Johannes Gutleber | SR-EU |
| PRISMAP+ | CERN | Thierry Stora | SY |
| RADNEXT 2030 | CERN | Rubén García Alía | SY |
| COORDINA-INNOV | DESY | Svetlomir Stavrev | SR-EU |
| HADRON-2030 | CNRS | David d'Enterria | EP |
| HTS4SRI | PSI | Marco Buzio | TE |
| STARDAST | EMBL | Alexander Kohls | OSI |
| ENSURE | EGI | Julia Andreeva | IT |
| EOSC Mesh | EGI | José Benito Gonzalez Lopez | IT |
| EOSC4ALL | GEANT SURF | Jakub Moscicki | IT |
| EOSC-CONNECT | CSC | Jakub Moscicki | IT |
The 13 projects involving CERN that have won funding from grants under the latest Research Infrastructures calls of the Horizon Europe programme.
Details of the projects
The ATTRACT EXPAND project, with a budget of €10 million, will build on the previous ATTRACT projects, an R&D&I ecosystem set up in 2018 to help turn world-class scientific research in Europe into commercial innovation. CERN’s innovation space IdeaSquare will play a key role in the project, coordinating it and acting as a hub within the ATTRACT Academy for many of the science-to-industry collaborations involving young European innovators. The new project aims to support 30 new high-potential technologies through an open call for funding.
EPITA aims to drive sustainable innovation in particle accelerator science by developing a portfolio of innovative technologies for a new generation of accelerators. This will be achieved through co-creation with industry in an open environment, maximising the technologies' impact while aligning with user strategies.
The project consortium consists of 43 beneficiaries from 16 countries, including six operators of research infrastructures, 10 research laboratories, 10 universities and 17 industry partners, most of which are SMEs.
EPITA has a total budget of over €21 million, with €10 million from EU grants and €11 million in matching funds.
iRIS aims to develop and pilot AI-powered solutions to enhance the sustainability of research infrastructures. The project’s goal is to improve the energy efficiency of particle accelerators and technical infrastructures, develop reuse of construction and demolition materials, and accelerate soil restoration.
Additionally, through shared FAIR data platforms and a harmonised sustainability assessment methodology for research infrastructures, the project will aim to build cross-sector adoption, transfer to industry and reuse by infrastructure projects worldwide.
The project has a budget of €5 million from EU grants.
PRISMAP+ builds on the work of predecessor project PRISMAP, and aims to provide a coordinated access of radionuclides for biomedical research in Europe. It is conceived as a new phase of the European medical radionuclide programme based on the production and delivery of high-purity grade radionuclides. Nuclear medicine and research with novel radiopharmaceuticals is a fast-evolving field, with the first blockbuster treatment, radiopharmaceutical Pluvicto, put on the market last year. This demonstrates the timeliness of PRISMAP+ which will provide access through the medical-radionuclides.eu platform and meets the strategic needs for a resilient medical radionuclide provision as identified by the European Council of the EU. The project has received €5 million in funding for this phase.
RADNEXT 2030 builds on the success of the RADNEXT project to establish a sustainable, transnational, and interdisciplinary radiation testing and research infrastructure supporting both scientific excellence and industrial competitiveness in Europe.
Radiation effects induced by energetic particles in electronic and photonic components and systems are a critical concern for space, avionics, high-energy physics, nuclear energy, IT infrastructure and many other mission-critical applications. This means access to testing facilities is increasingly important.
The project also supports activities at CERN, with RADNEXT 2030 enabling scientific access to the CHARM and HEARTS@CERN facilities. CERN has been one of the main RADNEXT beamtime users, with teams across multiple groups and sectors testing at a number of facilities.
The RADNEXT 2030 consortium brings together over 40 institutions from across Europe and beyond, and has a total budget of €12 million, including a €5 million contribution from the EU.