A New European Roadmap for Photon Science: Elettra and FERMI Among the Key Players

The League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources (LEAPS) is the alliance that brings together 19 major European research infrastructures based on synchrotrons and free-electron lasers, with the goal of coordinating strategies and technological developments in the field of photon science. LEAPS has just released the new Technology Roadmap 2025, a strategic document that updates the first edition of 2018 and sets out the development priorities for the coming years.

The document is the result of collaboration among 19 European research infrastructures, which today support more than 35,000 users per year, offering academia and industry some of the most advanced light beams in the world. The roadmap identifies six key areas—photon sources, diagnostics, X-ray optics, sample environment, X-ray detectors, and computing technologies and scientific data—considered essential for innovation in both basic research and industrial applications. 

These areas will have a direct impact on sectors such as health, energy, advanced materials, quantum technologies, and sustainable food production.

Among the priorities are increasing the brilliance and coherence of the beams, reducing the energy footprint of infrastructures, standardizing and modularizing systems, and integrating artificial intelligence into control and data analysis processes. The goal is to make experiments more efficient and productive, while also promoting interoperability and open access to scientific data.

Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste played an active role in the drafting process. Michele Svandrlik, General Coordinator of Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, served as chair of the editorial board that coordinated the work, with contributions from experts across the major European infrastructures.
As stated in the document: “The implementation of this Technology Roadmap is crucial to maintaining global leadership in photon science, strengthening European technological sovereignty, and ensuring that research infrastructures respond to the future needs of society and industry.”

The roadmap is not limited to the scientific community. The technologies developed will have direct impacts on everyday life: from the discovery of new drugs and vaccines to the development of materials for more efficient batteries, advanced semiconductors, and catalysts for more sustainable industrial processes. For Italy and for Friuli Venezia Giulia, the participation of Elettra and the free-electron laser FERMI in this process means strengthening a hub of scientific excellence connected to major European networks, capable of attracting talent and industrial collaborations and transferring innovation to the region.

• Download the brochure LEAPS Technology Roadmap 2025
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