In 2026, CERN has received funding for 13 new projects from the European Union’s R&D programme Horizon Europe, following applications to Research Infrastructures calls in 2025. All these projects will kick off this year and CERN will lead the coordination of five of them: ATTRACT EXPAND, EPITA, iRIS, PRISMAP+ and RADNEXT 2030.

The ATTRACT EXPAND project will build on the previous ATTRACT projects set up in 2018 to help turn world-class scientific research in Europe into commercial innovation. CERN’s innovation space, IdeaSquare, will play a key role in the project, coordinating it and acting as a hub within the ATTRACT Academy for many of the science-to-industry collaborations involving young European innovators. The new project aims to support 30 new high-potential technologies through an open call for funding.

EPITA aims to drive sustainable innovation in particle accelerator science by developing a portfolio of innovative technologies for a new generation of accelerators. This will be achieved through co-creation with industry in an open environment, maximising the technologies’ impact.

iRIS aims to develop and pilot AI-powered solutions to enhance the sustainability of research infrastructures. The project’s goal is to improve the energy efficiency of particle accelerators and technical infrastructures, develop strategies for the reuse of construction and demolition materials and accelerate soil restoration.

PRISMAP+ builds on the work of its predecessor project, PRISMAP, and aims to provide coordinated access to radionuclides for biomedical research in Europe through the medical-radionuclides.eu platform. It is conceived as a new phase of the European medical radionuclide programme, based on the production and delivery of high-purity-grade radionuclides.

RADNEXT 2030 builds on the success of the RADNEXT project to establish a sustainable, transnational and interdisciplinary radiation testing and research infrastructure that will support both scientific excellence and industrial competitiveness in Europe. Radiation effects induced by energetic particles in electronic and photonic components and systems are a critical concern for space science, avionics, high-energy physics, nuclear energy, IT infrastructure and many other mission-critical applications. This means that access to testing facilities is increasingly important. The project also supports activities at CERN, with RADNEXT 2030 enabling scientific access to the CHARM and HEARTS@CERN facilities.