The ARIES project officially began on 1 May 2017 and activities were launched with a kick-off meeting hosted at CERN on 4 and 5 May. ARIES, which stands for “Accelerator Research and Innovation for European Science and Society”, is a Horizon 2020 Integrating Activity, co-funded by the European Commission with a contribution of €10 million.
ARIES will last for four years and aims to promote particle accelerator R&D, developing European accelerator infrastructures and facilitating the discoveries of tomorrow. The consortium brings together 41 participants from 18 different European countries, including accelerator laboratories, technology institutes, universities and industry.
The project fosters interdisciplinary collaboration between academia and industry to share technology and information for excellent accelerator science. In addition, it will provide enhanced access to accelerator infrastructures, strengthen innovation and ensure long-term sustainability in the accelerator field.
ARIES will develop new technologies to ensure future accelerators are more affordable, reliable, sustainable and better performing. Considerations include energy efficiency, new accelerator concepts, new high-temperature superconductors, new superconducting coatings and new materials for thermal management.
Fourteen different European test facilities will be made available under ARIES for magnet, material, electron and proton beam, radio frequency and plasma acceleration testing.
In an effort to promote innovation and accelerator applications, ARIES includes co-innovation actions with industry, such as the “Proof-of-Concept” programme, which offers funds to develop accelerator spin-off technologies in partnership with industry.
Finally, ARIES will create a training programme to secure the sustainability of accelerator research, ensuring the next generation of scientists and engineers are equipped with the best tools for the future of accelerator science.
ARIES Project Coordinator, Maurizio Vretenar (CERN), said: “Accelerators are at a critical transition moment, with new concepts, technologies and applications emerging all the time. ARIES will develop new technologies for a variety of projects and accelerator types, and promote innovation in the field with new ideas, synergies, applications and ways of working together.”