News

The LEAPS consortium is delighted to announce its official partnership with ESUO, the European Synchrotron and FEL User Organisation. LEAPS General Assembly has endorsed this strategic partnership on 16 November 2020, following a fruitful exchange in elaborating common goals and visions.

The connection of LEAPS members with the user community is further reinforced by the approval of ESUO as a LEAPS Strategic Partner. User voices are an essential component for the evolution of the facilities. Having them directly represented in the LEAPS governance seamlessly optimizes the complementary functions for advancing together in serving the society.

Caterina Biscari, Chair LEAPS

ESUO, the European Synchrotron and Free Electron Laser User Organisation represent about 22,000 users of the European synchrotron and free-electron laser facilities. At present users from 30 European member states and associated countries (including Israel and Turkey) are represented by ESUO national delegates/representatives. LEAPS is very much looking forward to the mutual benefits of a close partnership of ESUO with LEAPS will generate.

LEAPS invited to a Zoom webinar on 28 October 2020, 10–12 CET “European Research Infrastructures: Engines for Science and Innovation” hosted by MEP and vice-chair of the ITRE Committee at the European Parliament, Lina Gálvez.

As the consortium of every Synchrotron radiation and Free-Electron Laser facility in Europe, we aim at contributing to shaping the Research Infrastructure (RI) landscape in Europe by inviting every Member State and join forces to assure the RI under Horizon Europe. At this event, the key role of RIs was showcased in contributing to solve the most urgent Global Challenges, including energy storage and viral threats.

A lively debate took place with right-to-the-point interventions from the European Commission, the LEAPS chair, scientific experts K. Edström on the topic energy materials and M. Ackerman on viral and microbial threats and industry expert A. Sandström from AstraZeneca, Europe. This was followed by a panel discussion of experts and finished with an open discussion in the form of interactive exchange of experts and policymakers.

“The negotiation at the European Parliament to increase the budget will be difficult because national interests are too strong in science. However, especially for RIs, there is a very clear need for international programs and cooperation.”

Lina Gálvez, vice-chair ITRE Committee, European Parliament

” The European Commission has recognized the role of RIs over the years by funding RIs and access of researchers to RIs. Now is the moment where we should have a more strategic approach in collaboration with various stakeholders for RIs to identify those areas where the role of RIs would be further recognized.”

Anna Panagopoulou, DG R&I RTD, European Commission

“It was amazing how quickly RIs in lock-down situation reacted to the pandemic and came-up with a quick-access program focused on COVID-19, pushing the scientific community to also react. LEAPS facilities have been at the fore-front there.”

Yannis Ionnidis, ESFRI

World-class RIs allow researchers to boost their careers and achieve more impactful results with their use. In fact, RIs are the success story of the European Research Area (ERA). The continuous evolution of RIs and the innovations developed at their heart provide a competitive advantage for research organizations, industry and the whole continent. RIs deserve proper funding and support at European level from Horizon Europe. Especially, due to the growing need to make national RIs more accessible to researchers from other Member States and in order to enable cost-efficient coordination in the renewed ERA.

RI substantively contribute to the objectives of the green deal by enabling research for clean, reliable and affordable energy and sustainable transport and elicits finding molecular targets to fight the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. The event gave a glimpse of a working landscape for RIs, in which not only the Member States but also the facilities themselves have a more prominent role. This model can work together with the funding instruments in Horizon Europe for the benefit of researchers and innovators all across Europe.

“It was very positive to see that the different European institutions are aware of LEAPS difficulties to fully develop our program but that our objectives are aligned and that we can work together to create the world´s most advanced science consortium.”

Caterina Biscari, Chair LEAPS

LEAPS is delighted to announce that its project proposal “LEAPS-INNOV” has reached the grant agreement process!

The LEAPS pilot to foster open innovation for accelerator-based light sources in Europe under the H2020 Call INFRAINNOV-04-2020: Innovation Pilots for Research Infrastructures, A Research and Innovation Action (RIA) will start in aparil 2021 and run for four years with a budget of 10 million EUR.

I am excited that LEAPS-INNOV not only brings together all LEAPS partners, but also starts to form much closer relations to industrial partners, which are of major importance for such a technology-driven consortium, says Elke Plönjes (DESY), Scientific Coordinator of the proposal.

In the context of open innovation, the LEAPS-INNOV pilot project focusses on the implementation of new strategies and activities for long-term partnerships between industry and the European light sources, synchrotrons and free-electron lasers, with their tens of thousands of users. It will contribute to solving key technological challenges for over 50 facilities in Europe and worldwide. LEAPS-INNOV aspires to strengthen highly specialised European companies, predominantly SMEs, for the market of light sources worldwide. LEAPS-INNOV will kick-start the implementation of the LEAPS Technology Roadmap and, at the same time, will foster a partnership with European industry through open innovation by offering joint technological developments and advanced research capabilities with LEAPS members for industry as collaborator, supplier and user. A number of different approaches and actions for partnership with industry will be undertaken and accessed, with the goal of accumulating a strategy for long-term industry engagement for LEAPS on a European level.