05 May 2026
Plasma Accelerators Gain Momentum at High-Level Brussels Event
Leading representatives from European institutions - from the European Commission to the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) - together with stakeholders from research, industry, and funding agencies gathered on 23 April in Brussels, at the Foundation University, for the EuPRAXIA Showcase Event 2026. This high-level meeting, organized by INFN-LNF and the University of Liverpool, aimed to strengthen collaboration, promote innovation in accelerator technologies, and discuss new funding opportunities for one of Europe’s most ambitious research infrastructure projects.
“EuPRAXIA’s vision is to bring together the best know how available in European laboratories and universities, to collaborate and foster innovation and competitiveness around a research infrastructure dedicated to novel acceleration technologies, while activating all possible synergies,” said Pierluigi Campana, Coordinator of the EuPRAXIA Preparatory Phase project.
The Showcase highlighted EuPRAXIA’s vision to deliver a next-generation, compact plasma-based accelerator facility, capable of transforming applications across science, medicine, and industry. As outlined during the opening session, EuPRAXIA is building a pan-European, distributed research infrastructure that integrates cutting-edge plasma acceleration technologies with a strong user-driven approach. There are hence many research connections and shared aims with the PACRI project.
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The project, included in the ESFRI Roadmap, is designed to fill a critical gap in Europe’s research infrastructure landscape, while fostering collaboration among over 38 laboratories and hundreds of researchers across Europe and beyond.
A central focus of the event was dialogue with policymakers and funding agencies. High-level speakers from the European Commission and the Research Executive Agency participated in dedicated panel discussions addressing opportunities for research infrastructures under future Horizon Europe programs, as well as strategies for innovation, technology transfer, and industrial uptake.
These discussions underlined the importance of coordinated European investment and long-term funding strategies to ensure the successful implementation of large-scale infrastructures such as EuPRAXIA.
Industry leaders from companies such as ScandiNova, Kyma, and Instrumentation Technologies contributed perspectives on market opportunities and the growing demand for advanced accelerator technologies, which already underpin a global market valued at nearly $10 billion.
ELI, specifically the ELI Beamlines Facility in Dolní Břežany, Czech Republic, was selected as the site for EuPRAXIA’s laser-driven plasma accelerator pillar in 2025. through the establishment of its second laser-driven accelerator pillar at the ELI Beamlines Facility. ELI will host a laser-plasma accelerator-based free-electron laser (FEL), complementing the beam-driven facility being developed at INFN Frascati, Italy, and forming a distributed European infrastructure for accelerator science. The ELI Beamlines Facility was selected for its advanced high-power, high-repetition-rate laser systems and established expertise in laser-plasma interaction and FEL technologies. The implementation will build on existing infrastructure, enabling efficient deployment while expanding the facility’s experimental capabilities. The integration of EuPRAXIA at ELI is expected to enhance research capabilities in plasma acceleration and support the development of compact FEL sources, reinforcing Europe’s position in advanced accelerator science.
A key theme throughout the meeting was the exploitation of synergies across Horizon Europe programs, enabling EuPRAXIA to integrate research, training, and innovation activities across multiple projects and funding streams.
ELI, specifically the ELI Beamlines Facility in Dolní Břežany, Czech Republic, was selected as the site for EuPRAXIA’s laser-driven plasma accelerator pillar in 2025. through the establishment of its second laser-driven accelerator pillar at the ELI Beamlines Facility. ELI will host a laser-plasma accelerator-based free-electron laser (FEL), complementing the beam-driven facility being developed at INFN Frascati, Italy, and forming a distributed European infrastructure for accelerator science. The ELI Beamlines Facility was selected for its advanced high-power, high-repetition-rate laser systems and established expertise in laser-plasma interaction and FEL technologies. The implementation will build on existing infrastructure, enabling efficient deployment while expanding the facility’s experimental capabilities. The integration of EuPRAXIA at ELI is expected to enhance research capabilities in plasma acceleration and support the development of compact FEL sources, reinforcing Europe’s position in advanced accelerator science.
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To date, the EuPRAXIA ecosystem has successfully mobilized around €150 million in funding and in-kind contributions, combining European, national, and regional investments. This diversified funding model is seen as essential for the long-term sustainability of the infrastructure.
Speakers emphasized that aligning initiatives such as the Preparatory Phase, MSCA Doctoral Network, and technology R&D projects, such as the PACRI project (Plasma Accelerator systems for Compact Research Infrastructures, https://www.pacri.eu/), creates a coherent innovation pipeline, accelerating the transition from fundamental research to real-world applications.
EuPRAXIA aims to harness plasma acceleration technologies capable of delivering particle energies up to 1,000 times higher than conventional methods over much shorter distances, opening the door to more compact, efficient, and cost-effective accelerators.
Such advances have the potential to revolutionize medical imaging and cancer therapy, materials science and industrial inspection, as well as environmental monitoring and energy applications. With more than 30,000 accelerators already in use worldwide, primarily in industry and healthcare, the societal and economic impact of next-generation technologies is substantial.
PACRI Coordinator, Dr Gerardo D’Auria, said: “The work planned for PACRI is crucial for developing plasma accelerator technologies for next-generation research infrastructures such as EuPRAXIA and ELI-Beamlines, extending their operating capabilities at high repetition rates and improving their efficiency.”
The presence of high-level representatives from the European Commission, ESFRI, national ministries, and leading research organizations sent the clear message that EuPRAXIA is emerging as a flagship European initiative in advanced accelerator technologies. By bringing together science, industry, and policy, the EuPRAXIA Showcase Meeting 2026 demonstrated the project’s growing momentum and its strategic importance for Europe’s competitiveness, innovation capacity, and scientific leadership.
About EuPRAXIA
EuPRAXIA (European Plasma Research Accelerator with eXcellence In Applications) is a major European initiative to develop the world’s first plasma-based accelerator facility for users. It brings together leading laboratories, universities, and industry partners to create a new generation of compact accelerators for research and applications.
