Author: Annika Thies
We are pleased to announce three newly funded LEAPS projects that will strengthen the role of European research infrastructures in shaping the future of science and innovation. ACCESS2ACCESS, COORDINA-INNOV, and LEAPS-TECH address key European priorities by improving access to world-class facilities, advancing critical technologies for photon science, and fostering sustainable collaboration with industry. Together, they highlight the growing contribution of the LEAPS community to scientific excellence, technological sovereignty, and European competitiveness.
ACCESS2ACCESS is a European project of high strategic relevance for LEAPS and the wider RI landscape. Coordinated by Euro-BioImaging, the initiative brings together a large, cross-domain consortium of leading European RIs to lay the foundations for a future European access framework enabling world-class research through open, integrated and sustainable use of infrastructures. ACCESS2ACCESS will explore to what extent it is possible to move from individual access projects (the current INFRA-SERV-projects) to an overarching programme, making it easier for European researchers to identify relevant capabilities
Building on experience from INFRA-IA and INFRA-SERV projects and operational best practices, the consortium will develop an evidence-based, user-centred approach to access. This includes analysing national and European schemes, consulting stakeholders, co-designing governance and funding models aligned with the RI Access Charter, and developing a conceptual AI-assisted single-entry discovery model to simplify and harmonise the user journey.
LEAPS members Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), European XFEL (EuXFEL) and DESY contribute their long-standing expertise in excellence-driven access, transnational user programmes and large-scale facility governance. Their participation underlines LEAPS’ commitment to shaping a coherent, future-oriented European access ecosystem that strengthens scientific excellence, competitiveness and strategic autonomy across Europe.
LEAPS-TECH, coordinated by Elke Plönjes-Palm (DESY), will launch in September 2026 with a total funding volume of €10 million. The project brings together 19 European synchrotron and free-electron laser (FEL) infrastructures to strengthen Europe’s leading position in accelerator-based photon science. By implementing the LEAPS Technology Roadmap 2025, LEAPS-TECH fosters strategic joint technology development between research organisations and industry. This collaboration aims to secure the global competitiveness and technological sovereignty of European RIs.
A key focus lies on enhancing standardisation and interoperability across critical technology domains, including undulators, optics, detectors, and data management. These efforts will increase efficiency and reduce technological fragmentation across Europe’s photon science landscape. LEAPS-TECH is expected to deliver significant impact by modernising European photon sources, reinforcing European industry as a key technology provider, and supporting the next generation of scientists and engineers through training, mobility, and innovation initiatives.
COORDINA-INNOV, coordinated by Helmut Dosch, DESY, in close collaboration with José Manuel Perez, CIEMAT, and Annika Thies, DESY, started in May 2026 with a total budget of €1.5 million. Europe’s large-scale RIs are global leaders in science and technology, driving innovation far beyond their scientific missions. As most of their key components cannot be sourced off the shelf, these infrastructures have become powerful engines of technological advancement. Breakthroughs in areas such as high-resolution imaging, superconducting magnets, advanced detectors, and laser technologies are the result of in-house development and close collaboration with specialised European suppliers—strengthening both scientific excellence and industrial competitiveness.
Building on the success of INFRAINNOV-04-2020 projects such as LEAPS-INNOV, AIDAinnova, and I.FAST, which demonstrated the clear added value of European collaboration in RI technology development, COORDINA-INNOV takes the next step. The project aims to establish a European coordination framework for joint technology development among RIs, strengthening EU-wide cooperation and safeguarding strategic know-how for the long term. It will develop sustainable governance and funding models for RI technology programmes, including structured engagement with industry.
A key objective is the creation of a European co-innovation ecosystem, bringing RIs, SMEs, and deep-tech companies to reinforce European value chains in critical technologies. COORDINA-INNOV is expected to reduce Europe’s dependence on non-European suppliers, align technology roadmaps across countries and infrastructures, and deliver policy-relevant recommendations for FP10, contributing to Europe’s technological sovereignty.
Together, these initiatives highlight the growing role of LEAPS in driving collaboration across European research infrastructures and fostering innovation beyond individual facilities.
