Hi-Acts remains on course for innovation: Helmholtz innovation platform to be continued
26.11.2025 |
This news is based on a press release from DESY, HZDR.
Successfully evaluated and now permanently established: The Helmholtz Association is continuing the Hi-Acts (Helmholtz Innovation Platform for Accelerator-based Technologies and Solutions) innovation platform. Following a positive assessment by an independent international panel of experts, the project, which was launched in 2023 and initially planned to run for three years, will be continued and thus permanently anchored in the Helmholtz portfolio.
With this decision, the Helmholtz Association recognizes Hi-Acts' contribution to promoting innovation and transferring cutting-edge technologies to industry and society. Otmar D. Wiestler, who was President of the Helmholtz Association until October 2025, wrote in his letter of congratulations to the participating centers: “Hi-Acts strengthens cutting-edge research and links it specifically to the needs of industry. I congratulate Hi-Acts on its performance and wish the initiative every success and great achievements in transfer in the years to come.”
Hi-Acts was launched by five Helmholtz Centers: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon. The aim is to work with industry to develop more innovations and technologies based on the particle accelerator facilities operated by the five centers and make them available for use by society. Hi-Acts connects research institutions and industry partners to create new applications in areas such as new materials and analysis, electronics and energy, and health and medicine. Since its launch, more than 116 companies and research organizations have joined the platform. Over 200 experts regularly exchange ideas via the Hi-Acts platform in order to carry out joint innovation projects.
“The continuation of Hi-Acts is a strong signal for the success of joint innovation structures within the Helmholtz Association,” emphasizes Dr. Katharina Stummeyer, Administrative Managing Director of GSI and FAIR. “At GSI, we combine cutting-edge research with technological excellence — clearly demonstrated by the construction of the international accelerator center FAIR. Hi-Acts provides ideal conditions for strategically integrating our expertise and unique infrastructure into collaborations with industry. This creates innovations that generate long-term value for both the economy and the society.”
The platform offers a range of services and opportunities to facilitate collaborations between research and industry. A key instrument for this is the annual call for Use Case Initiatives, which provides up to €100,000 in seed funding per initiative. By 2026, this funding will double to a total of almost €1 million. To date, the platform has attracted around €22 million in third-party funding for joint projects.
With Hi-Acts Connect, the platform also offers industry straightforward access to overcome industrial challenges in research and development with the help of the Helmholtz Centers: companies can submit their requests online using a simple form, and Hi-Acts will find the right research partners. In addition, the platform organizes workshops, webinars and meet-ups between industry and research. Five Technology Labs give external partners targeted access to accelerator-based methods and infrastructures at the Helmholtz Centers. The Technology Labs have proven themselves as a bridge between scientific findings and their concrete market-ready applications and, starting in 2027, will be opened up to all five centers with a selection process similar to the Use Case Initiatives. Each Technology Lab can receive up to 1.8 million euros over three years.
Continuous investment and expansion ensure the long-term impact of Hi-Acts and strengthen the platform's role as a catalyst for innovation. With its combination of cutting-edge research, industrial application and targeted technology transfer, Hi-Acts will continue to make a decisive contribution to bringing new technologies from research into everyday life. (CP)
