The EuPRAXIA Consortium has selected the ELI Beamlines facility at Dolní Břežany in the Czech Republic as the site for implementing the laser-driven acceleration pillar of the project. This second site will be complementary to the beam-driven site currently under construction at INFN’s Frascati National Laboratories. Together, they will form a paneuropean distributed research infrastructure, dedicated to the study and transformative innovations in accelerator science.
This decision concludes a delicate evaluation process conducted by the EuPRAXIA Consortium, which examined proposals from several laboratories, taking into account the project’s medium- to long-term strategic objectives.
EuPRAXIA, included in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Roadmap 2021, is a pioneering initiative for the development of compact, high-performance electron accelerators based on advanced accelerator technologies using laser-powered plasma wakefields (laser-driven) and/or particle beams (beam-driven).
“This decision taken by the EuPRAXIA Consortium is a great achievement”, says Pierluigi Campana, EuPRAXIA coordinator. “The choice of the second site is one of the most relevant milestones of the EuPRAXIA preparation phase and a crucial step towards the implementation of the distributed infrastructure”.
The choice of ELI Beamlines was determined by its infrastructural maturity, the presence of state-of-the-art laser systems and the local presence of all the necessary technical expertise. High-power, high-repetition-frequency laser systems, such as the new L2 DUHA laser, allow for the use of different experimental configurations, thanks to which ELI will be able to implement and manage laser-driven acceleration and a free-electron laser (FEL) planned for EuPRAXIA. Leveraging an existing infrastructure enables cost optimisation by reducing infrastructure expenses and ensuring ELI’s strategic integration into European research plans.
“We are proud and honoured by the EuPRAXIA Consortium’s decision to locate its second site at ELI after such a thorough and transparent evaluation process. Being selected by EuPRAXIA is not only an accolade, it is a responsibility that we embrace with enthusiasm”, says Allen Weeks, director general of ELI Beamlines. “We look forward to working closely with our partners to advance accelerator science and generate substantial benefits for science, industry and society”.
“Now that the site for EuPRAXIA’s laser-driven activities has been defined, we can move on to a more active phase of the project”, comments Paola Gianotti, director of INFN’s Frascati National Laboratories. “The relationship between ELI Beamlines and INFN had already begun, now I expect it to become a continuous exchange of skills and technologies”.
Hosting the EuPRAXIA site at ELI is an important step that will bring significant scientific, technological and economic benefits, strengthening Europe’s competitiveness in laser-plasma research. The initiative is expected to stimulate collaborations between academia and industry, attract additional investment and increase ELI’s scientific and technological capacity, promoting innovation and growth in the wider Central European region.
EuPRAXIA also recognises the important roles of other laboratories that were candidates to host the second site: EPAC in the UK and CNR-INO in Pisa. Both reaffirm their support for the realisation of the project. EPAC will contribute to EuPRAXIA as a centre for R&D, focusing on studies to obtain high quality, high energy electron beams for FEL applications, while CNR-INO will be a national node, leading laser research, also in collaboration with industry, and acting as a link between the two chosen sites in Italy and Czech Republic.
Commenting on the news, Massimo Ferrario, site manager at INFN’s Frascati National Laboratories, said: “The technical-scientific synergies that will be realised between our site at the Frascati National Laboratories and that of ELI Beamlines will drive innovation in the field of future accelerators based on plasma modules. The collaboration between these two facilities, combining advanced expertise in laser and plasma acceleration technologies, will advance the EuPRAXIA project as a whole”.
The selection of ELI Beamlines as the second EuPRAXIA project site is a significant step forward for this initiative, strengthening Europe’s leadership in advanced accelerator technologies and demonstrating the immense potential of collaborative and innovative science.
