ERL4ALL project

Developing an energy-recovery particle accelerator with unprecedented energy efficiency

Impact

Particle accelerators were invented 100 years ago and are exceptional instruments to study the fundamental laws of the Universe and also for multiple applications for society in fields such as imaging, healthcare or energy. Their remarkable development is based on ever more powerful beams for ever more in-depth investigations but calls for increasing power consumption. Accelerators have more than demonstrated their value to society, yet they must now address the challenge of energy sustainability. 
The project proposes a technological breakthrough in its use of an energy-recovery linear accelerator (ERL) which has great potential for savings. The main idea is to reuse energy from previous beams to reduce drastically the energy consumption of the accelerating structures. This concept proposes a new type of accelerator that is more compact, cheaper and consumes less electricity. It could be deployed for all applications where the accelerated beams interact weakly like, for example, with a laser or with another beam. The instrument will be tailored to specific uses in order to cover a wide range of applications.

Limitations to overcome

An ERL recovers energy from the beams circulating in the accelerator to minimise the facility's power consumption. Once an accelerated beam has been used, its energy is returned to the accelerator structures to accelerate the next beam. The uninterrupted, high-power operation of the facility requires the construction of a high-intensity electron injector. In addition, it is crucial to develop accelerator structures with unprecedented performance in order to ensure a high efficiency for both acceleration and energy recovery.

Risks

One of the risk concerns the ability to efficiently design and implement the intense electron source. Moreover, the concept of using an ERL in such a high-power regime has never been demonstrated: this project will assess its technical feasibility for the first time in the world.

Innovation potential

With unprecedented energy efficiency, ERLs offer a revolutionary concept for accelerators. ERLs will be essential for basic research, particularly into future colliders in particle and nuclear physics and will also make it possible to develop high-energy X-ray sources. These sources have a significant impact for applications like innovative radiotherapy, where they are used to target tumours while preserving healthy tissue, ultra-high resolution biomedical imaging for diseases like Alzheimer's and imaging of cultural heritage and materials. This project positions France at the forefront of international competition.