EPACE – European Compact Accelerators, their Applications, and Entrepreneurship
Tailored Plasma Targets for Laser Wakefield Acceleration: https://www.epace.eu/projects/project_4
Project website: https://www.epace.eu/
Funding programme / Call: Horizon Europe – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Doctoral Networks (DN)
Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2023-DN-01-0
FTMC participation: FTMC is not listed as a full consortium member of EPACE, but participates in one dedicated project within the Doctoral Network.
FTMC Internal Contract No.: 2300-T71
Other country project No.: 101169117
FTMC Project Leader: Gediminas Račiukaitis
New technologies of compact particle accelerators, particularly plasma-based accelerators, and laser-driven X-ray sources are approaching technological maturity in this decade, creating a timely opportunity to expand their applications in academia, medicine and industry. Training a new generation of entrepreneur-minded early-stage researchers in these disruptive technologies will enable them to build successful careers while delivering significant societal impact.
This is the core objective of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network EPACE (European Compact Accelerators, their Applications, and Entrepreneurship). EPACE promotes a culture of excellence, innovation and critical thinking, empowering young researchers to explore new opportunities and to contribute meaningfully to European Union missions.
Strong emphasis is placed on high-impact applications in:
– Industry, particularly muon tomography;
– Medicine, including the FLASH radiotherapy effect using particle beams from plasma accelerators;
– Sustainability and efficiency, through reduced energy consumption of particle accelerator technologies.
An extensive training curriculum delivered in collaboration with a world-class European business school will support students in identifying promising research results and translating them into commercially viable innovations.
Coordinated by DESY, EPACE brings together 31 academic and industrial partners across Europe and provides advanced interdisciplinary training to 15 PhD candidates, combining scientific excellence, awareness of EU values and strong entrepreneurship skills.
Within EPACE, FTMC contributes through the dedicated research project “Tailored Plasma Targets for Laser Wakefield Acceleration”, which focuses on the development of optimised plasma target structures for laser wakefield acceleration, aiming to improve beam stability, efficiency and reproducibility for future compact accelerator applications.
