Together with partners the three European Magnetic Field Laboratories, joined in EMFL, have been awarded two EU Horizon 2020 grants: one to develop all-superconducting user magnets beyond 40 Tesla (2.9 M€), and one to expand EMFL’s industrial and user community (4.9 M€). With these grants, EMFL will strengthen its long-term sustainability and invest in the design of beyond-state-of-the-art magnets.
Some recent advances open the way for the implementation of fully superconducting magnets, combining low- and high-temperature superconductor (HTS) technology for the magnets at the EMFL facilities. These magnets will partly replace current high-field resistive magnets in the future, leading to a significantly lower energy consumption and new scientific possibilities. It creates new market opportunities in areas such as materials characterization, materials processing, chemistry, and biology. It also enhances the competitiveness of industrial partners, and has the potential to create spin-offs in sectors such as medical imaging, materials processing, energy transport and storage. EMFL aims to ensure its long-term sustainability by optimizing its structure, bridging the gap with industry (offer a better service for industrial users and active transfer of EMFL technology), and strengthening the role of high-magnetic-field research in Europe and worldwide. Important goals are the enlargement of EMFL membership and the improvement of several organizational aspects, such as data management, outreach, and access procedures.
EU H2020 INFRADEV
The EU Horizon 2020 INFRADEV program aims to support the development of world-class research infrastructures which will help Europe to respond to grand challenges in science, industry, and society. It facilitates and supports the implementation and longterm sustainability of the research infrastructures identified by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and of other world-class research infrastructures. There are several INFRADEV programs. The Design Study (INFRADEV-01 – “SuperEMFL”) program offered the financial support to develop all-superconducting user magnets above 40 Tesla. The expansion of the industrial and user community falls under ‘Individual support to ESFRI and other world-class research infrastructures’ (INFRADEV-03 – “ISABEL”). Both projects have a duration of 4 years.
