On 8th and 9th September 2026, the RePowerSiC consortium gathered in Copenhagen for its 3rd Progress Meeting, hosted by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Over two days, project partners reviewed the work carried out so far, discussed the latest technical developments and agreed on the priorities that will guide the next phase of the project.

The Copenhagen meeting opened on 8th September with an open seminar by Haiyan Ou, Professor at DTU’s Department of Electrical and Photonics Engineering and WP3 leader in RePowerSiC, focusing on the fabrication and characterisation of devices. The seminar provided a scientific starting point for the meeting and opened the discussion to topics closely connected with the development and characterisation of advanced silicon carbide technologies.

From there, the programme moved into the RePowerSiC project sessions. Partners presented recent developments from the different work packages, compared results and discussed how the various strands of research are progressing towards the common objectives of the project.

With RePowerSiC now moving further into its research and experimental activities, the Progress Meeting offered an important opportunity to look at the project as a whole. Discussions focused not only on results already achieved, but also on the interfaces between activities, upcoming experimental work and the steps needed to keep developments across the consortium aligned.

The discussions also benefited from the participation of Francesco La Via and Didier Chaussende, members of the RePowerSiC Scientific Advisory Board and recognised experts in the field. Their presence added an external scientific perspective to the exchanges, contributing to the discussion of the project’s technical progress and future research directions.

Bringing RePowerSiC and SiCPIC researchers together

The programme at DTU also created an opportunity for an exchange with the MSCA Doctoral Network SiCPIC – Silicon carbide photonic integrated circuit training network.

Coordinated by DTU, SiCPIC is a Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network dedicated to developing silicon carbide as a platform for the next generation of photonic integrated circuits. Its research addresses SiC material and device development and their integration into photonic technologies, with potential applications including optical communications, mid-infrared spectroscopy and quantum communications. A central part of the network is the training of 15 Doctoral Candidates in academic and industrial research environments.

Although RePowerSiC and SiCPIC approach silicon carbide from different research perspectives, their presence at DTU at the same time offered a natural opportunity for researchers from the two projects to meet and exchange experiences.

As part of the Copenhagen programme, participants from the two projects therefore joined a laboratory tour at DTU accompanied by an experimental demonstration. Rather than a conventional presentation session, the visit brought the discussion directly into the laboratory, allowing participants to see experimental activities first-hand and exchange questions around fabrication, characterisation and the behaviour of SiC-based devices.

The activity had a particular value for the young researchers involved in RePowerSiC and SiCPIC. Meeting peers working with the same material in different technological contexts gave them the opportunity to compare experimental approaches, discuss challenges encountered in their research and share knowledge developed within their respective projects.

This kind of exchange is especially relevant in a field such as silicon carbide research, where progress increasingly brings together expertise in materials, device fabrication, characterisation and different technological applications. SiCPIC itself is designed around this multidisciplinary approach, combining doctoral training with research ranging from SiC materials and nanofabrication to integrated devices and system-level applications.

For RePowerSiC, the joint activity therefore represented more than a laboratory visit: it was an opportunity to connect its researchers with another European research community built around SiC, encouraging knowledge exchange and creating new connections between researchers at different stages of their careers.

Looking towards the next phase of RePowerSiC

Following the laboratory activities, the consortium continued its technical and project discussions, using the remainder of the meeting to define the work ahead. The two days concluded with partners sharing a clearer picture of the priorities for the coming months and of how the different activities will contribute to the next stages of RePowerSiC.

Progress Meetings are an important part of this process. They provide a space to move beyond individual tasks and results and to assess how developments across the consortium fit together as the project advances.

The RePowerSiC team thanks all partners for their active participation and contributions throughout the two days, and DTU for hosting the meeting in Copenhagen and welcoming RePowerSiC and SiCPIC researchers into its laboratories.

The consortium now returns to its research activities with the discussions, decisions and exchanges held in Copenhagen feeding into the next phase of the project.