Development and construction of accelerator based scientific Research Infrastructures are going through a deep paradigm change because of the need for large scale Technological Infrastructures at the forefront of technology to master the key accelerator and magnet science and technology needed for several fields. Indeed, because of the high technological level and of the increased size and time scale of projects, development and construction require more and more sophisticated R&D platforms on key accelerator and magnet technologies, large-scale facilities for their assembly, integration and verification, large concentrations of dedicated skilled personnel and long term relationships between laboratories and industry. In response to those challenges, a few large platforms specialized in interdisciplinary technologies and for applications of direct benefit to society are emerging. The emerging Technological Infrastructure is aiming at creating an efficient integrated ecosystem among laboratories focussed on R&D, with a long term vision for the technological needs of future RIs and industry, including SME, motivated by the innovative environment and the market created by the realisation of the technological needs of several RIs. With a timeline of 30 months, involving 10 Consortium partners, the AMICI proposal will ensure that A) a stronger and optimised integration model between the large existing technological infrastructures is developed and agreed upon, B) that this integrated ecosystem is attracting industries and fostering innovation based on accelerator and SC magnets cutting-edge developments, C) that strategy and roadmaps are clearly defined and understood to strongly position European industries and SMEs on the market of the construction of new Research Infrastructures worldwide, and D) that potential societal applications are identified and disseminated to the relevant partners of this ecosystem.

Astropreneurs: turning space-related ideas into viable businesses and promoting opportunities for entrepreneurs coming from space and non-space sectors. We will support entrepreneurs, startups and SMEs, coming from space and non-space sectors, to create viable business cases and have faster markets approaches by mentoring them on businesses and technical needs, helping them to access private and public funding, but also to overcome the financial, administrative and networking barriers that are now preventing them from more success in the commercial phases. Astropreneurs consortium is solid and sustainable, even at its constitution level. All partners, led by Instituto Pedro Nunes – Portugal, are spread across Europe and represent different types of stakeholders: Verhaert (BE), Brimatech Services GmbH (AT), Science and Technology Facilities Council – STFC (UK), Aerospace Valley (FR), Centrum für Satellitennavigation Hessen – CESAH (DE), CzechInvest (UK), and Knowledge Innovation Market – KIM (SP). The complementarity of skills and expertise gathered in the CSA, aligned with the unmatched geographical reach is a powerful differentiating characteristic of the consortium, together with the direct participation of the ESA BIC Network & ESA Brokers Network.

The CERN’s projects, HL-LHC and FCC, will create a big push in the state of the art of High-Field Superconducting magnets in the ten coming years. The performance of superconducting materials such as Nb3Sn and HTS will be developed to yield higher performance at lower costs and the construction materials and techniques will be advanced. At the same time, in the context of Energy’s savings, Industry is experiencing a renewed interest in the domain of industrial superconductivity with fault current limiters, wind generators, electric energy storage, etc. Besides, Medical Research shows a strong interest in High-Field MRI, especially for the brain observation. Considering the social impact of the investment of the HL-LHC project and FCC study, CERN and CEA have established a Working Group on Future Superconducting Magnet Technology (FuSuMaTech).The Working Group has explored a large spectrum of possible synergies with Industry, and has proposed a set of relevant R&D&I projects to be conducted between Academia and industry. To keep the leading position of Europe in the domain, the most efficient way is to support joint activities of Industry and academic partners on the common concerns in view of overcoming the technological barriers. The FuSuMaTech Initiative aims to create the frame of collaborations and to provide common tools to all the EU actors of the domain. The FuSuMatech Initiative is a dedicated and large scale silo breaking programme which will create a sustainable European Cluster in applied Superconductivity. It will enlarge the innovative potential especially in High Field NMR and MRI, opening future breakthroughs in the brain observation. The FuSuMaTech Phase 1 is the first step of the FuSuMaTech Initiative. It is based on practical cases studies and will consist in preparing: 1. The administrative and legal conditions; 2. The detailed description of generic R&D&I actions and of the Technology demonstrators; 3. The funding scheme for the future actions.