Credit: R&D World, from DOE Office of Science data
Over the past decade, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has steadily expanded a program meant to carry particle accelerator technology beyond physics labs and into medicine, industry and security. Now it is changing how that program funds university research. Starting in fiscal 2027, only multi-university teams can win grants in the program’s basic research track.
On Oct. 26, DOE selected 14 projects to receive $15 million under its Accelerator Stewardship and Accelerator Development programs, which fund research to move accelerator technology into wider use and to build U.S. suppliers of accelerator parts.
DOE launched Accelerator Stewardship in fiscal 2014. The program grew out of Accelerators for America’s Future, a 2009 DOE workshop on the obstacles to developing and deploying accelerator technology. In 2020, DOE moved the program into a new Office of Accelerator R&D and Production, which added the Accelerator Development program in 2022 to strengthen domestic suppliers.
The new projects will “advance accelerator technologies that drive scientific discovery, healthcare innovation, and economic competitiveness while strengthening national security,” according to the DOE press release.
Under a policy DOE laid out in this year’s funding documents, the next round of the stewardship program’s basic research track will fund only multi-university teams. DOE will not renew any current award to a single principal investigator (PI) in the track past Aug. 31, 2027.
What’s changing
DOE is replacing single-investigator basic research grants with “Collaborative Accelerator Research Teams,” which require at least three institutions and three PIs, led by a university. The teams will receive renewable, five-year awards of $3.75 million to $7.5 million.
Starting in fiscal 2027, the team awards will cover five topic areas: beam dynamics and controls, emerging acceleration concepts, particle sources, superconducting magnets and superconducting radio-frequency technology. DOE expects to fund one team in each area.
The Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where researchers develop laser-driven particle acceleration. A Berkeley Lab team led by Cameron Geddes received one of DOE’s 14 new accelerator awards, for research on high-power ultrafast lasers. (Credit: U.S. Department of Energy)
The shift means longer, larger awards than DOE has funded under the single-PI model. DOE’s FAQ says single-PI awards in this track generally average about $500,000 over three years.
DOE frames the shift as a response to more complex research problems and workforce needs. Its slides for the funding call say it wants teams to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools and connect with the Genesis Mission, DOE’s initiative to accelerate science with AI.
DOE isn’t the only agency moving toward large team awards. In December 2025, the National Science Foundation announced a “Tech Labs” initiative that will give large, multiyear awards to full-time research teams outside universities, saying complex science increasingly requires cross-disciplinary teams.
A broader reshuffle
The shift to team awards is one of several changes DOE made to the program this year. In an internal reorganization, DOE’s Office of Science moved its Office of Accelerator R&D and Production into the Office of High Energy Physics, which now runs the stewardship program. DOE’s FAQ for the funding call told applicants the move would have little effect on them this year.
DOE also retired or redirected four parts of the program. A new network called BeamNetUS replaced the track that funded researchers’ use of DOE accelerator test facilities. BeamNetUS gives researchers a single portal to apply for particle beam time across national lab facilities.
The track that funded business plans for the accelerator technology sector ended. The particle beam therapy topic accepted only renewals this year. And DOE dropped its topic on expert accelerator control systems, telling researchers to pursue that work through the Genesis Mission.
This round marked a transition for DOE as it moves toward starting multi-university awards in fiscal 2027. PIs whose basic research awards ended in fiscal 2026 could apply only for one-year terminal renewals, a final extension before the award ends.
This year’s round funds 14 projects across 29 institutions for $15 million. DOE says the program typically awards about $1 for every $7 requested.
Half of this year’s projects focus on superconducting technology. Four target superconducting radio-frequency cavities, the structures that accelerate particle beams, and three companies will work on domestic production of superconducting wire and cable. Three projects advance high-power ultrafast laser technology. The rest cover a new linear accelerator design for radiotherapy and security, laser wakefield acceleration, photocathodes and accelerator physics.
What’s next
DOE’s webinar slides for the funding call say funding calls usually post early in the calendar year, and the slides’ timeline shows the first team awards starting Sept. 1, 2027. DOE’s funding documents don’t say what support, if any, DOE will offer single-investigator groups that don’t join a team, or the graduate students on their expiring grants.
DOE did not respond to a request for comment by publication.
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