From Research Hubs to Innovation Partners: The Hi-Acts Platform Model for Co-Creation and Societal Impact

Deep inside massive scientific facilities, giant machines called particle accelerators shoot beams of energy at incredible speeds. While these machines are primarily built to answer the deepest questions about how the universe works, they also generate powerful tools and specialized knowledge that could solve everyday problems. For decades, these facilities have been seen as places where scientists discover new things and then hand those discoveries over to companies to turn into products. However, a new way of thinking suggests that the real value lies not just in handing over a finished invention, but in inviting companies to work side-by-side with scientists from the very beginning. The challenge has always been that these powerful machines are often hidden behind complex technical language and are scattered across different locations, making it hard for businesses to know how to use them.

A new initiative called Hi-Acts is changing this dynamic by acting as a bridge between these giant research centers and the industries that need their help. Instead of trying to build new, expensive machines, the team behind Hi-Acts coordinated five existing accelerator facilities in Germany to work together as a single, accessible partner. They found that by organizing their existing skills around real-world problems—like testing electronics for space travel or improving car batteries—they could unlock a level of innovation that was previously out of reach. The result is a model where research facilities stop being distant suppliers and become active collaborators, helping to solve urgent societal challenges without losing their focus on fundamental science.

The story of Hi-Acts begins with a simple observation: the most powerful tools in science are often the hardest to find. Large particle accelerators are like specialized libraries of capability, holding unique expertise in everything from X-rays to heavy ions. For a long time, the relationship between these facilities and the outside world was one-way. Scientists would make a discovery, and a company would take it and try to figure out how to use it. But innovation often works the other way, too. Companies face specific, difficult problems, and they need the unique capabilities of these accelerators to solve them. The problem was that a company looking to test a new battery or a satellite part had to navigate a maze of different facilities, each speaking a different technical language and operating on its own schedule. It was as if a traveler needed to visit five different cities to buy a single ticket, with no map to guide them.

To fix this, the Hi-Acts platform was created to coordinate five German accelerator centers within the Helmholtz Association. Rather than merging these facilities into one giant organization or changing their primary research goals, the platform added a layer of coordination that makes them easier to access. The team started by mapping out what each facility could actually do, translating their technical jargon into a shared portfolio of capabilities. They then organized these capabilities around three big areas where industry needs help: energy, materials, and medicine. Most importantly, they set up a single point of contact. Now, when a company has a problem, they do not need to know which machine or which scientist to call. They simply contact the platform, describe their challenge, and the team matches that need with the right combination of expertise from across the different centers.

This approach was put to the test with two major projects that show how the model works in practice. The first involved the space industry, where electronics must be tested to ensure they can survive the harsh radiation of space. This testing is critical for satellites and navigation systems, but the facilities that can do it are rare and scattered, leading to long delays. Hi-Acts brought together two different accelerator centers to create a coordinated service. One center provided access to rare, high-energy beams needed for deep testing, while the other offered routine access to complementary types of radiation. By combining these resources and streamlining the process with a robotic arm and standardized testing frames, the team created a seamless service. The pilot phase showed that this coordination reduced preparation time by several working days and made the use of beam time more efficient by 10 to 15 percent. This small change helped speed up the development of reliable space electronics, which are essential for everything from tracking ocean currents to monitoring deforestation.

The second example focused on the urgent need for better batteries to support the transition to green energy. Developing safer and longer-lasting batteries requires understanding how they degrade while they are actually being used, a process known as operando testing. Previously, scientists could only look at batteries after they had failed, which gave an incomplete picture. Hi-Acts connected a battery company with two research centers that had the right tools to watch a battery work in real time. One center designed a special test stand that could hold different types of battery cells, while the other provided access to a powerful X-ray machine capable of taking high-resolution 3D images of the battery as it charged and discharged. By integrating these capabilities into a single workflow, the team enabled industrial partners to see inside a battery in action. This new service increased the speed of testing by more than 300 percent, cutting the time needed to measure a single cell down to about 20 minutes. This breakthrough allows for the rapid development of batteries that are safer and more efficient, supporting the broader shift toward electric transport and renewable energy.

The success of these projects reveals a clear lesson: the most effective way to create impact is not necessarily by building new infrastructure, but by better connecting what already exists. The paper argues that the traditional model of technology transfer, where knowledge flows in only one direction, is not enough to capture the full potential of these facilities. Instead, the Hi-Acts model demonstrates that when research centers and industries work together as partners from the start, they can solve problems faster and more effectively. The platform does not require massive new budgets or a complete overhaul of how these facilities operate. It simply requires a shift in perspective, treating the facilities as hubs of capability that can be aligned with real-world needs.

By focusing on specific challenges like space electronics and battery performance, the Hi-Acts team showed that they could create new pathways for collaboration without changing the core scientific missions of the participating centers. The model is designed to be flexible and transferable, meaning other groups of research facilities could adopt the same approach to strengthen their own connections with society. The key takeaway is that the value of these massive scientific instruments is not just in the data they produce for scientists, but in how well they can be connected to the people and industries that need their help. Through this coordinated effort, the facilities move from being isolated research hubs to becoming active innovation partners, proving that the path to societal benefit often lies in how we choose to work together.