The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), launched by the Italian government in 2021 as part of the EU NextGenerationEU program, dedicated substantial resources to reinforce research infrastructures in strategic areas. In 2022 the Ministry of University and Research approved the IRIS project (Innovative Research Infrastructure for applied Superconductivity), allocating about €60 million for its construction (almost €8 million at University of Milan-UNIMI), recognizing superconductivity as a key enabling technology, both for advancing fundamental science and for addressing societal challenges in energy and health.
IRIS is conceived as a distributed infrastructure, with a central hub at the LASA Laboratory in Milan (INFN and University of Milan-UNIMI) and five additional poles: Genoa, Frascati, Naples, Salerno, and Lecce (Salento). Each site contributes specific expertise and facilities: together, they form a national network that integrates existing strengths and upgrades them with new laboratories, cryogenic systems, and advanced instrumentation.
The project addresses two complementary missions. The first is to support large-scale science, particularly the development of superconducting magnets and systems for future particle accelerators such as the Future Circular Collider at CERN or the proposed Muon Collider. The second is to foster societal applications, focusing on green energy and medical technologies. This dual orientation is embodied in two flagship demonstrators currently under construction:
• The Green Superconducting Line (GSL): a 130 m cable rated for 1 GW (25 kV–40 kA), designed to demonstrate efficient, sustainable long-distance power transmission at 20 K.
• The Energy-Saving HTS Magnet (ESMA): a 1 m-long, 10 T dipole with a large bore, conceived as a technological demonstrator for future accelerators based on sustainable technologies. It will serve as a platform for testing superconducting cables, too.
The project is structured in work packages (WPs), with WP1 dedicated to project management and technical coordination, 6 WPs (WP2 to WP7) dedicated each one to a territorial pole, while WP8 and WP9 are for the two technological demonstrators.
Beyond building facilities and demonstrators, IRIS will operate until at least 2035, ensuring continuity in research, industrial collaboration, and open access.
6.1 Milan – LASA: The IRIS Superconducting Magnet Laboratory (WP1 and WP4)
Beyond its experimental and engineering capabilities, LASA (Laboratorio per Acceleratori e Superconduttività Applicata, established in 1987) plays a central management and coordination role within IRIS. The laboratory hosts the project office that oversees planning, budgeting and reporting to the national PNRR authorities, and it ensures alignment of activities across the six poles. LASA also manages the shared digital infrastructure, from collaborative design platforms to the central database, where experimental results from Genoa, Salerno or Lecce will be archived under FAIR principles.
A key mission of LASA in IRIS is training and human-capital development. The laboratory coordinates participation to specialized schools and advanced courses in applied superconductivity, often co-organized with major international conferences. The training is offered to all IRIS hired staff and also to a few young staff already present in the IRIS poles under synergic projects. An interesting figure is the almost 1300 days of training provided by IRIS to young scientists, engineers and technicians. In this way LASA, and all IRIS, acts as a hub for knowledge transfer, preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers to sustain Italian leadership in superconductivity.
LASA is equally committed to external engagement. Industrial partners, from cable manufacturers to cryogenic companies, are invited to validate their products or innovative process in the LASA facilities, as well as other IRIS facilities. Outreach to international users is also planned, with open calls for proposals, to be part of a dynamic European innovation ecosystem. In the long term, we aim to be a key member of a European network to be integrated into the ESFRI roadmap.
The LASA facility in Milan already hosts also labs for superconducting RF, electromagnetic field measurements, and high‐intensity DC and RF field generation. It has experience in advanced magnet prototyping and testing, in SRF prototypes of complete structure and RF cavity tests at 2 K for large accelerator projects.
6.1.1 Enhancements of existing facility (Magnet Cryogenic Lab)
At present the main equipment present in Magnet Cryogenic lab are: i) an 8 T field, 550 mm room temperature bore solenoid, used in the past for LHC and ATLAS cable measurements; ii) a 3 m long testing cryostat, called Hilumi, where recently 54 High Order Superferric corrector magnets for the CERN High Luminosity LHC project have been tested; iii) a superconducting solenoid of 13 T in a 50 mm free cold (2.15-4.2 K) bore for material testing . This Lab is being upgraded with the procurement and installation of various equipment, described in the following list:
1. A 300-80 K gas cooling system for large mass (few tonnes).
2. A 30 kA–40 V stabilized new modular power converter with a bus bar line that will allow us to test superconducting magnets in LHe up to 30 kA current.
3. A closed loop cooling system to power samples and coils up to 1 tonne in the 20 K–50 K range (with a thermal shield at 60 K).
4. Other equipment, like a continuous quality measurement of the REBCO tape and a system for fast controlled soldering of SC tape are being procured, too.
5. Two additive manufacturing (AM) systems thanks to IRIS-PNRR funds assigned to UNIMI: one for metals (pure copper and AISI316, later expandable to aluminum, titanium and tungsten), with a usable volume of 250x250x300 mm3 and a powerful IR laser of 1 kW; and one for polymers, capable of a wide range of printable material (PLA, ABS, Nylon, ULTEM, PEEK, Carbon PEEK, Helios PEEK) with also a noteworthy volume of 500x500x500 mm3.
6.1.2 New Superconducting Magnet Laboratory (SML)
The present LASA technical infrastructure will be doubled in surface thanks to the PNRR, with the construction of a new building about 50 m long and more than 15 m wide, with 600 m2 of useful area for each floor. It will feature a ground floor laboratory, 8 m in height, equipped with a crane for 15 tonnes and with all tooling for magnet construction. An upper floor will host lighter tooling: metrology lab with Faro Arm for optical and touch 3D precise coil shape reconstruction and the previously described AM systems that will be moved in the new building when available. In addition, the building will have a shielded underground laboratory, called AATFL (Advanced Accelerator Test Facility), that can host activity with high-brilliance particle beams of relatively low energy (hundreds MeV electrons) and/or other facilities that may require radiation shielding like a facility for testing RF cavities for the Muon Collider inside high magnetic fields. This shielded underground laboratory, has been possible thanks to a special contribution by INFN, in addition to the main PNRR funding. The building is under responsibility of the University of Milano UNIMI. Here below the list of the main equipment that will be installed:
1. winding system equipped for both horizontal axis (solenoid) and vertical axis rotation (for dipole and multipoles, so the axis is also tilting to facilitate the coil head winding);
2. a multipurpose press suitable for accelerator magnet coil curing, collaring and cold mass compaction welding (up to 20 GN/m press);
3. a coil size and elastic modulus measurement system, and vacuum/pressure impregnation.
4. a multi-tape winding machine for HTS REBCO round and racetrack pancakes and other tooling like a Faro Arm for optical and touch 3D precise coil shape reconstruction.
5. An oven for Nb3Sn thermal treatment
6. An oven for Sc coil impregnation
7. Various benches for coil and magnet assembly.
8. 3D printers owned by UNIMI (already installed temporarily into present LASA)
The equipment will be complemented by expertise in magnet design: full computational design, thermal and electromagnetic simulation; optimization of conductor geometries.
Given its central functions, LASA will absorb a large share of IRIS funding and will serve as reference for best practices, training, and integration. Roughly speaking, LASA under IRIS becomes the “reference magnet‐making node” in Italy, combining material R&D, magnet design, prototyping and test.
Sito web del progetto: https://iris.infn.it/it/
IRIS is conceived as a distributed infrastructure, with a central hub at the LASA Laboratory in Milan (INFN and University of Milan-UNIMI) and five additional poles: Genoa, Frascati, Naples, Salerno, and Lecce (Salento). Each site contributes specific expertise and facilities: together, they form a national network that integrates existing strengths and upgrades them with new laboratories, cryogenic systems, and advanced instrumentation.
The project addresses two complementary missions. The first is to support large-scale science, particularly the development of superconducting magnets and systems for future particle accelerators such as the Future Circular Collider at CERN or the proposed Muon Collider. The second is to foster societal applications, focusing on green energy and medical technologies. This dual orientation is embodied in two flagship demonstrators currently under construction:
• The Green Superconducting Line (GSL): a 130 m cable rated for 1 GW (25 kV–40 kA), designed to demonstrate efficient, sustainable long-distance power transmission at 20 K.
• The Energy-Saving HTS Magnet (ESMA): a 1 m-long, 10 T dipole with a large bore, conceived as a technological demonstrator for future accelerators based on sustainable technologies. It will serve as a platform for testing superconducting cables, too.
The project is structured in work packages (WPs), with WP1 dedicated to project management and technical coordination, 6 WPs (WP2 to WP7) dedicated each one to a territorial pole, while WP8 and WP9 are for the two technological demonstrators.
Beyond building facilities and demonstrators, IRIS will operate until at least 2035, ensuring continuity in research, industrial collaboration, and open access.
6.1 Milan – LASA: The IRIS Superconducting Magnet Laboratory (WP1 and WP4)
Beyond its experimental and engineering capabilities, LASA (Laboratorio per Acceleratori e Superconduttività Applicata, established in 1987) plays a central management and coordination role within IRIS. The laboratory hosts the project office that oversees planning, budgeting and reporting to the national PNRR authorities, and it ensures alignment of activities across the six poles. LASA also manages the shared digital infrastructure, from collaborative design platforms to the central database, where experimental results from Genoa, Salerno or Lecce will be archived under FAIR principles.
A key mission of LASA in IRIS is training and human-capital development. The laboratory coordinates participation to specialized schools and advanced courses in applied superconductivity, often co-organized with major international conferences. The training is offered to all IRIS hired staff and also to a few young staff already present in the IRIS poles under synergic projects. An interesting figure is the almost 1300 days of training provided by IRIS to young scientists, engineers and technicians. In this way LASA, and all IRIS, acts as a hub for knowledge transfer, preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers to sustain Italian leadership in superconductivity.
LASA is equally committed to external engagement. Industrial partners, from cable manufacturers to cryogenic companies, are invited to validate their products or innovative process in the LASA facilities, as well as other IRIS facilities. Outreach to international users is also planned, with open calls for proposals, to be part of a dynamic European innovation ecosystem. In the long term, we aim to be a key member of a European network to be integrated into the ESFRI roadmap.
The LASA facility in Milan already hosts also labs for superconducting RF, electromagnetic field measurements, and high‐intensity DC and RF field generation. It has experience in advanced magnet prototyping and testing, in SRF prototypes of complete structure and RF cavity tests at 2 K for large accelerator projects.
6.1.1 Enhancements of existing facility (Magnet Cryogenic Lab)
At present the main equipment present in Magnet Cryogenic lab are: i) an 8 T field, 550 mm room temperature bore solenoid, used in the past for LHC and ATLAS cable measurements; ii) a 3 m long testing cryostat, called Hilumi, where recently 54 High Order Superferric corrector magnets for the CERN High Luminosity LHC project have been tested; iii) a superconducting solenoid of 13 T in a 50 mm free cold (2.15-4.2 K) bore for material testing . This Lab is being upgraded with the procurement and installation of various equipment, described in the following list:
1. A 300-80 K gas cooling system for large mass (few tonnes).
2. A 30 kA–40 V stabilized new modular power converter with a bus bar line that will allow us to test superconducting magnets in LHe up to 30 kA current.
3. A closed loop cooling system to power samples and coils up to 1 tonne in the 20 K–50 K range (with a thermal shield at 60 K).
4. Other equipment, like a continuous quality measurement of the REBCO tape and a system for fast controlled soldering of SC tape are being procured, too.
5. Two additive manufacturing (AM) systems thanks to IRIS-PNRR funds assigned to UNIMI: one for metals (pure copper and AISI316, later expandable to aluminum, titanium and tungsten), with a usable volume of 250x250x300 mm3 and a powerful IR laser of 1 kW; and one for polymers, capable of a wide range of printable material (PLA, ABS, Nylon, ULTEM, PEEK, Carbon PEEK, Helios PEEK) with also a noteworthy volume of 500x500x500 mm3.
6.1.2 New Superconducting Magnet Laboratory (SML)
The present LASA technical infrastructure will be doubled in surface thanks to the PNRR, with the construction of a new building about 50 m long and more than 15 m wide, with 600 m2 of useful area for each floor. It will feature a ground floor laboratory, 8 m in height, equipped with a crane for 15 tonnes and with all tooling for magnet construction. An upper floor will host lighter tooling: metrology lab with Faro Arm for optical and touch 3D precise coil shape reconstruction and the previously described AM systems that will be moved in the new building when available. In addition, the building will have a shielded underground laboratory, called AATFL (Advanced Accelerator Test Facility), that can host activity with high-brilliance particle beams of relatively low energy (hundreds MeV electrons) and/or other facilities that may require radiation shielding like a facility for testing RF cavities for the Muon Collider inside high magnetic fields. This shielded underground laboratory, has been possible thanks to a special contribution by INFN, in addition to the main PNRR funding. The building is under responsibility of the University of Milano UNIMI. Here below the list of the main equipment that will be installed:
1. winding system equipped for both horizontal axis (solenoid) and vertical axis rotation (for dipole and multipoles, so the axis is also tilting to facilitate the coil head winding);
2. a multipurpose press suitable for accelerator magnet coil curing, collaring and cold mass compaction welding (up to 20 GN/m press);
3. a coil size and elastic modulus measurement system, and vacuum/pressure impregnation.
4. a multi-tape winding machine for HTS REBCO round and racetrack pancakes and other tooling like a Faro Arm for optical and touch 3D precise coil shape reconstruction.
5. An oven for Nb3Sn thermal treatment
6. An oven for Sc coil impregnation
7. Various benches for coil and magnet assembly.
8. 3D printers owned by UNIMI (already installed temporarily into present LASA)
The equipment will be complemented by expertise in magnet design: full computational design, thermal and electromagnetic simulation; optimization of conductor geometries.
Given its central functions, LASA will absorb a large share of IRIS funding and will serve as reference for best practices, training, and integration. Roughly speaking, LASA under IRIS becomes the “reference magnet‐making node” in Italy, combining material R&D, magnet design, prototyping and test.
Sito web del progetto: https://iris.infn.it/it/
