At the end of February, the RF2.0 project consortium gathered at the ALBA Synchrotron in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near Barcelona, for a productive two‑and‑a‑half‑day meeting. Our partners from across Europe met to review progress, plan upcoming work, and strengthen collaboration as the project enters its final year.
The meeting also benefited from the participation of our Industrial Advisory Board expert from INEUSTAR, who contributed valuable external perspectives on the project’s developments. Additionally, our Project Officer joined the opening day online, together with several other team members who participated remotely.
As usual, a plenary session was held on the first day of the meeting, during which all work package leaders presented detailed updates and discussed current challenges. By the end of 2025, several important milestones had been reached and the Work Package 3 on data-driven energy management for research infrastructures had been successfully completed.
The team also outlined the next steps for the remaining activities in the third project year and carried out a systematic monitoring of the project’s exploitable results to help ensure long‑term impact and future uptake. In addition, the partners refined the project’s dissemination and communication strategy, with a strong focus on outreach to researchers, research facilities, industry stakeholders, and European policymakers.
A dedicated workshop with RF2.0’s EU sister project, iSAS, was also held during the meeting. A team of six members attended in person, enabling direct exchange with the RF2.0 partners. The objective of this joint session was to share progress and initial results, explore potential synergies, and discuss options for future cooperation between the two projects.
A highlight of the meeting was the guided tour of the ALBA Synchrotron, one of Spain’s largest scientific and technological infrastructures. ALBA is a 3 GeV, third‑generation synchrotron light source that operates a complex of electron accelerators generating light from the infrared to hard X‑rays. This enables researchers to study the structural and chemical properties of materials at the atomic scale. During the tour, RF2.0 participants had the rare opportunity to visit the accelerator tunnel and light‑source infrastructure, gaining valuable technical insights relevant to the design and operation of more sustainable future research facilities.
The consortium extends its thanks to ALBA for hosting and looks forward to meeting again over the coming months at various conferences, workshops, and other events.
