Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LEAPS-INNOV (LEAPS pilot to foster open innovation for accelerator-based light sources in Europe)
Période du rapport: 2021-04-01 au 2022-09-30
The European synchrotron radiation sources and free electron lasers (FELs) serve a broad scientific community of around 30,000 users and play a vital role in most research fields from basic science to applied areas in health, engineering, environment, cultural heritage as well as in high-impact industrial applications. LEAPS-INNOV (LEAPS pilot to foster open innovation for accelerator-based light sources in Europe) contributes to solving key technological challenges for over 50 light sources in Europe and worldwide, and supports their newest generation - diffraction-limited storage rings and X-ray FELs. Contributing to the technological sovereignty and realizing synergies is at the heart of the broader roadmap of both, LEAPS - the League of European Accelerator-Based Photon Sources - and LEAPS-INNOV.
The increasing complexity of technology and a shorter life cycle require the photon sources to join innovation with partner facilities, users and industrial suppliers to promote creativity, novelty and resource efficiency. The overall objective of the LEAPS-INNOV innovation pilot is kick-starting the implementation of the LEAPS Technology Roadmap while enhancing partnership with industry through open innovation. In this context, LEAPS-INNOV seeks to address collaboration with industry as a supplier as well as a user of the light sources.
The LEAPS-INNOV partners have initiated six multinational beyond-state-of-the-art collaborative technology objectives in the areas of source development, optics, detectors, sample environments and data science. Performing research & development (R&D) in a coordinated manner across LEAPS allows a more efficient use of resources and faster technology innovation and deployment while facilitating partnerships with companies. This will enable Europe to keep leading the way in photon science and will provide an industrial basis for its instrumentation and tools worldwide.
Furthermore, LEAPS-INNOV explores different pathways in targeting industry as an early-stage collaborator, such as different procurement actions, joint workshops and forums, and knowledge and technology transfer. In terms of facility use, LEAPS-INNOV is building a medium- and long-term perspective on enhanced engagement, using the critical mass of LEAPS and the vast pool of expertise, tools and scientific know-how for supporting industry through dedicated joint actions and effective pathways for access. Finally, LEAPS-INNOV includes a pilot activity bringing the light sources together with user clusters and EU partnerships including academia and industry addressing the societal challenges.
The increasing complexity of technology and a shorter life cycle require the photon sources to join innovation with partner facilities, users and industrial suppliers to promote creativity, novelty and resource efficiency. The overall objective of the LEAPS-INNOV innovation pilot is kick-starting the implementation of the LEAPS Technology Roadmap while enhancing partnership with industry through open innovation. In this context, LEAPS-INNOV seeks to address collaboration with industry as a supplier as well as a user of the light sources.
The LEAPS-INNOV partners have initiated six multinational beyond-state-of-the-art collaborative technology objectives in the areas of source development, optics, detectors, sample environments and data science. Performing research & development (R&D) in a coordinated manner across LEAPS allows a more efficient use of resources and faster technology innovation and deployment while facilitating partnerships with companies. This will enable Europe to keep leading the way in photon science and will provide an industrial basis for its instrumentation and tools worldwide.
Furthermore, LEAPS-INNOV explores different pathways in targeting industry as an early-stage collaborator, such as different procurement actions, joint workshops and forums, and knowledge and technology transfer. In terms of facility use, LEAPS-INNOV is building a medium- and long-term perspective on enhanced engagement, using the critical mass of LEAPS and the vast pool of expertise, tools and scientific know-how for supporting industry through dedicated joint actions and effective pathways for access. Finally, LEAPS-INNOV includes a pilot activity bringing the light sources together with user clusters and EU partnerships including academia and industry addressing the societal challenges.
The project implementation in the first period (Apr. 2021 - Sep. 2022) is well on track, 22 Milestones were achieved and 14 Deliverables submitted, as planned. LEAPS-INNOV has set up a fruitful virtual collaboration in 2021 with work package (WP) meetings, seminars and workshops on technology topics, IPR and for starting collaborations with industry. Only in 2022, first meetings could be realized in person, such as the first Annual Meeting in Barcelona.
The six technology WPs, which integrate over 50 companies, are all moving forward at an excellent pace despite the challenges imposed on supply chains due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine and first important milestones have been reached:
All sections of the prototype for a new generation of germanium-sensor based spectroscopy detectors are in the design and manufacturing phase with early industry involvement. The two WPs addressing new technologies for design, production and metrology of novel, highest quality optics, i.e. mirror substrate figuring technologies and gratings based on e-beam lithography, are progressing as scheduled with first excellent results and again in-depth contribution of industry. The joint activities on sample environments with high standardization and synchronization, as well as novel positioning and metrology systems are making rapid progress with industry support through extensive subcontracting. Four prototypes for novel, highly advanced, but also cost-effective undulators (magnetic structures and the actual sources of the X-rays) together with two measurement benches for analyzing the quality of these undulators, are making excellent progress, also towards a possible knowledge transfer, while the WP on data science has successfully structured the needs of the community including industrial detector suppliers towards new data compression schemes.
Industry networking and addressing industry as users has been facilitated through European events (e.g. BSBF 2022), surveys and a successful first SME access call. They are complemented by pilot actions with user clusters and EU partnerships towards addressing societal challenges more intensely which started out with expert workshops, round tables and the preparation of a co-creation call.
In the context of open innovation, LEAPS-INNOV has started to test tools for effective interaction with industry. A pre-commercial procurement (PCP) is currently in its second phase and tools like competitive dialog procurement and subcontracting include innovative companies into the developments at an early stage with the goal of knowledge and technology transfer towards industry later on.
Furthermore, LEAPS-INNOV has created an Innovation Advisory Board (IAB) of experts from industry and industry-linked academia. Finally, bringing together all three funded innovation pilots, an RI Open Innovation Coordination Group has met frequently to stimulate exchange on innovation amongst the advanced communities of research infrastructures.
The six technology WPs, which integrate over 50 companies, are all moving forward at an excellent pace despite the challenges imposed on supply chains due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine and first important milestones have been reached:
All sections of the prototype for a new generation of germanium-sensor based spectroscopy detectors are in the design and manufacturing phase with early industry involvement. The two WPs addressing new technologies for design, production and metrology of novel, highest quality optics, i.e. mirror substrate figuring technologies and gratings based on e-beam lithography, are progressing as scheduled with first excellent results and again in-depth contribution of industry. The joint activities on sample environments with high standardization and synchronization, as well as novel positioning and metrology systems are making rapid progress with industry support through extensive subcontracting. Four prototypes for novel, highly advanced, but also cost-effective undulators (magnetic structures and the actual sources of the X-rays) together with two measurement benches for analyzing the quality of these undulators, are making excellent progress, also towards a possible knowledge transfer, while the WP on data science has successfully structured the needs of the community including industrial detector suppliers towards new data compression schemes.
Industry networking and addressing industry as users has been facilitated through European events (e.g. BSBF 2022), surveys and a successful first SME access call. They are complemented by pilot actions with user clusters and EU partnerships towards addressing societal challenges more intensely which started out with expert workshops, round tables and the preparation of a co-creation call.
In the context of open innovation, LEAPS-INNOV has started to test tools for effective interaction with industry. A pre-commercial procurement (PCP) is currently in its second phase and tools like competitive dialog procurement and subcontracting include innovative companies into the developments at an early stage with the goal of knowledge and technology transfer towards industry later on.
Furthermore, LEAPS-INNOV has created an Innovation Advisory Board (IAB) of experts from industry and industry-linked academia. Finally, bringing together all three funded innovation pilots, an RI Open Innovation Coordination Group has met frequently to stimulate exchange on innovation amongst the advanced communities of research infrastructures.
Despite the difficulties posed by the pandemic, which restricted meetings and workshops to online events, LEAPS-INNOV has made remarkable progress towards structuring joint technology development and innovation within the LEAPS community. With regard to the technical work packages, the design and experimental work contributes to developing new cutting-edge technologies for LEAPS and synchrotron and FEL facilities worldwide. All achievements are directly spread into the LEAPS community, which critically enhances the scientific competitiveness and technological sovereignty of these European Research Infrastructures in the long term.
The close interaction with industry already at early stages of technology development through industrial beneficiaries, strategic procurement, as well as LEAPS-INNOV workshops and participation in industry forums supports the innovation potential and technological sovereignty of the involved companies and facilitates the creation of larger and more viable markets.
The non-technical work packages, focussing on industry relation as well as outreach into the user community, significantly contribute to fostering new approaches for partnership between industry and the photon science community on various levels, with the goal of accumulating a strategy for long-term industry engagement for LEAPS in Europe. Joint actions within the entire LEAPS community, such as the LEAPS-INNOV SME access program, contribute to quantitative and qualitative improvements of the services provided by the research infrastructures.
Overall, the work carried out so far within LEAPS-INNOV has significantly contributed to increasing the level of cooperation within LEAPS and awareness on collaboration potential with industry – and this will be built upon and expanded in the future.
The close interaction with industry already at early stages of technology development through industrial beneficiaries, strategic procurement, as well as LEAPS-INNOV workshops and participation in industry forums supports the innovation potential and technological sovereignty of the involved companies and facilitates the creation of larger and more viable markets.
The non-technical work packages, focussing on industry relation as well as outreach into the user community, significantly contribute to fostering new approaches for partnership between industry and the photon science community on various levels, with the goal of accumulating a strategy for long-term industry engagement for LEAPS in Europe. Joint actions within the entire LEAPS community, such as the LEAPS-INNOV SME access program, contribute to quantitative and qualitative improvements of the services provided by the research infrastructures.
Overall, the work carried out so far within LEAPS-INNOV has significantly contributed to increasing the level of cooperation within LEAPS and awareness on collaboration potential with industry – and this will be built upon and expanded in the future.