The League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources is proud to announce the release of the LEAPS Technology Roadmap 2025 – a strategic document that sets the direction for the development of European research infrastructures in photon science for the coming years.
This updated roadmap, building on the first edition published in 2018, was developed through close collaboration among 19 leading European facilities operating synchrotrons and free-electron lasers (FELs). It identifies the most pressing development needs across six key technology areas:
– Photon Sources,
– Photon Diagnostics,
– X-ray Optics,
– Sample Environment,
– X-ray Detectors,
– Information Technology and Scientific Data.
These areas form the foundation for future innovation in both fundamental and applied research, as well as industrial applications. They will play a crucial role in advancing breakthroughs in healthcare, energy, advanced materials, quantum technologies, and sustainable food production.
Today, LEAPS facilities deliver some of the most advanced synchrotron and FEL sources in the world, enabling groundbreaking research across more than 35,000 projects annually. To maintain its global leadership, Europe must continue to innovate in response to increasing investments in other parts of the world, particularly in Asia and the United States.
The LEAPS Technology Roadmap 2025 focuses on:
– increasing beam brightness and coherence,
– reducing the energy footprint of large research infrastructures,
– promoting standardisation and modularity of systems,
– integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into facility operations and data analysis.
These priorities will enable more efficient, high-throughput experiments and foster open, interoperable systems for the European scientific community.