Viewpoint: Why Europe must invest in research infrastructures now

As we move further into the 21st century, the importance of scientific research and technological innovation is becoming ever more apparent. Our ability to address critical challenges – from climate change to global health threats – depends on the strength and quality of our research and development efforts as enablers of innovation.

However, a worrying trend has emerged, of budget cuts or stagnating budgets - which given inflation are in effect cuts - in crucial areas of research and science.

These cuts severely affect the European Research Infrastructures, which are at the heart of the European Research Area. Over the past decades, these large scale, shared, research facilities have successfully enabled frontier science at an international level and strengthened innovation for the benefit of society, technology-driven organisations and industry.

With the expertise of their operators and the state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, the infrastructures have enabled Europe's best researchers to push the frontiers of knowledge.

And, through the basic research carried out at the research infrastructures, they play a crucial role in maintaining Europe’s scientific and technological leadership, fostering innovation and technological sovereignty in key areas of development.

As we look towards the next Framework Programme FP10, the question is: will research infrastructures still be able to play the same role in the future?

EIROforum, a collaboration of eight of Europe's largest intergovernmental research organisations, which I have chaired for the past year and which includes CERN, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the European Space Agency, the European Organisation for Astronomical Research  in the Southern Hemisphere, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the European Consortium for the development of Fusion Energy EUROfusion, European X-ray free Electron Laser Facility and Institut Laue-Langevin, has been very concerned about the past stagnation of the research infrastructure budget within Horizon Europe.

Given inflation and rising costs, flat budgets reduce spending power in real terms, threatening Europe’s ability to remain competitive in global research and innovation. Given this, for FP10, we are calling for a substantial increase in the budget for the research infrastructure programme. It is a call to action, given the need to address rising costs in all sectors, especially energy, and the need to attract and retain leading scientists and other research professionals, like engineers or IT specialists.

Essential tools

High-quality research institutions are incubators of innovation, closely interacting with and promoting the industrial ecosystem in Europe, driving economic growth and addressing societal challenges. Advances in medical research lead to improved health outcomes. Innovations in renewable energy technologies help combat climate change, and breakthroughs in information technology drive economic growth across multiple sectors.

Research infrastructures encompass the sophisticated tools and facilities that are essential for both academic and industrial users to carry out high-quality scientific research. They include large-scale facilities such as particle accelerators and space observatories, as well as specialised laboratories and advanced computing systems. These resources are often the foundation on which scientific discoveries and technological advances are built. Investing in Europe´s research infrastructures is investing in Europe´s innovation potential and competitiveness.

Without adequate investment, our ability to discover and innovate will be compromised. This would be likely to affect the development of vaccines; energy technologies including renewables and carbon reduction technologies; shared data infrastructures; artificial intelligence applications in science; and advances in materials science.

In addition, research infrastructures play an important role in the education and training of young scientists and engineers, which matters to both the academic and industry sectors.

The secondary costs of insufficient budgets will far outweigh any initial savings. There will be slower technological progress, reduced competitiveness and a potential brain drain as top researchers migrate to regions with better resources. It would require considerable effort and resources to reverse such a trend.

The budget for research infrastructures should be seen as a strategic investment in Europe's future. Better integration of research infrastructures into FP10 pillars and clusters will ensure optimal use of the infrastructure to deliver scientific and technological progress.

Funding for upgrades and continuous technological development, in the form of long-term programme funding (as opposed to project funding in Horizon Europe), will maintain a competitive level of service to academic and industrial users across the continent.

Collaboration with industry will also benefit from a focused approach to innovation and technology transfer. Ongoing support is also important for data infrastructures, which handle large datasets that form the basis of successful and innovative AI approaches. In addition, research infrastructures will play an essential role in the further development of the European Open Science Cloud, which aims to develop a network of data and services for science in Europe.

The challenges we face are complex and require robust and dynamic research capabilities. Ensuring that research infrastructures are well funded is fundamental to maintaining and enhancing our capacity to address these challenges. By investing now and in the years to come, we will ensure that we are equipped to meet the challenges of tomorrow, driving technological development, fostering innovation and improving the well-being of society as a whole.

It is up to all of us to show the vision and commitment that our scientific future demands. Let us seize this opportunity to ensure a bright and innovative future.

Thomas Feurer, European XFEL, chaired EIROforum from July 2023 to June 2024