What is the Proof-of-Concept fund?

The ARIES Proof-of-Concept (PoC) fund offers financial support to study, develop and establish the commercial feasibility of novel concepts within accelerator science.

Aims

• To increase the level of innovation and technology transfer from accelerator science.
• To increase the impact of research, concepts & technology arising from the ARIES project.
• To minimise the risks associated with innovation for small-medium enterprises (SMEs).

Eligibility

Lead applicants must be part of the ARIES consortium (ie: beneficiaries or partner organisations). However, additional participants are not required to be connected with ARIES. The work proposed must demonstrate the potential for the development of technologies and expertise.

What can the funding be used for?

• Undertaking further scientific and technical development of an idea.
• Improving an intellectual property (IP) position, such as supporting further works to exemplify or broaden patent claims.
• Gaining further information about the market for new products or processes.
• Identifying potential licences of opportunities for joint ventures.

What the funding cannot be used for?

• 'Blue sky' research
• Associated intellectual property costs, i.e: patent costs
• The purchase of large equipment and capital.

Evaluation of proposals

Projects will be ranked on the basis of quality, impact and implementation. Top ranked projects will be invited to interview.

For futher details please consult the ARIES Proof-of-Concept fund Evaluation Methodology document.

Monitoring

Selected projects will be monitored by the Evaluation Panel and ARIES WP14 Coordinator.

All award holders will be required to submit a report detailing their results within two months after the end of the project.

Timeline

Call opens: 1st December 2017

Submission deadline: 31st March 2018

Recommeded length of projects: 2 years
(projects should be completed by 31st January 2021)

How to apply?

For more information on how to apply, please consult the Proposal Guidelines webpage and downloadable document.

The Application Template is available to download here and must be submitted via the Submission Form here.

For queries, please get in touch with the ARIES PoC Coordinators via: ARIES-PoC@cern.ch

Selected projects

⇒ Riga Technical University presented a wide collaborative project, involving academic partners, scientific laboratories, a commercial company and two shipyards, aimed at tackling the challenge of pollution generated by marine diesel exhaust gas, using electron beam accelerators.

⇒ The RHP company presented a project in collaboration with GSI, supported by 2 industrial partners, aimed at preparing innovative composite materials, containing diamonds, with tailored thermophysical properties. Applications are expected in power electronics, laser, and collimators for future accelerators.

⇒ CEA supported by an industrial partner (Zanon), focusing on the development of a novel technology for producing Superconducting Radio Frequency Cavity. The method, Atomic Layer Deposition, if proved successful, could dramatically impact the construction and operational cost of large accelerator projects, such as FCC and CLIC.

⇒ The University of Liverpool, together with D-Beam Ltd., presented an innovative project aimed at developing an advanced optical imaging system. Applications are expected for beam diagnostic in light sources and synchrotrons and video projectors and displays.

Read more about the projects on Accelerating News.