Ideon Technologies Joins Pioneering Global Consortium to Demonstrate High-Resolution Laser-Driven Muon Imaging

Ideon to deploy advanced muon detectors to conduct first high-resolution muon imaging experiment powered by a compact laser-plasma accelerator

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ideon Technologies, the global leader in muon tomography for subsurface intelligence, is participating in a landmark international research consortium that will attempt the world’s first high-resolution muon imaging experiment powered entirely by a laser-plasma accelerator. This has direct relevance to industrial applications in mineral production, critical infrastructure, cargo inspection, medical imaging, semi-conductors, nuclear security, and even space radiation testing.

The initiative brings Ideon together with leading experts in laser-plasma acceleration and high-energy particle physics, including The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), which leads the project under Principal Investigator Dr. Calin Hojbota of the Relativistic Plasmas and Advanced Accelerators group; the Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) facility team; Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU Düsseldorf); Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR Dresden), ELI-Beamlines and Tau Systems.

Beginning in August, the consortium will conduct five weeks of experiments at the ELI-NP facility in Magurele, near Bucharest, Romania. This high-power laser technology will generate multi-GeV electron beams, convert them into a directed muon¹ beam, and demonstrate non-destructive imaging of industrial objects. Ideon will capture the results using advanced muon detectors customized to receive and measure such an intense beam.

This initiative sits at the very frontier of physics. The laser-plasma accelerator fires intense, ultra-short laser pulses into a gas cell, ionizing it into a plasma and generating a powerful “wake” of electrical fields that accelerates electrons to energies of 8–15 GeV; previously achievable only with particle accelerator facilities hundreds of metres or kilometers long. Those electrons are then directed into a dense converter material, producing a directed beam of muons. Ideon will deploy multiple of its advanced compact muon detectors to capture, track, and image the resulting muon beam; and to image the contents of the target.

Simulations predict approximately tens of thousands of muons per shot. Cosmic-ray muons, the passive source that Ideon uses today, arrive at a rate that results in imaging campaigns lasting hours to weeks to months, depending on depth and desired spatial resolution. A compact, directed, laser-driven muon source operating at one shot per minute can deliver equivalent or better imaging performance in a fraction of the time, with the added benefit of directionality and controllable beam parameters.

“Ideon uses the penetrating power of particles born from some of the most energetic events in the universe. Until now, we’ve relied on the natural muon flux that nature provides. This collaboration could change that equation entirely,” said Dr. Douglas Schouten, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Ideon Technologies. “For the first time, a compact accelerator can generate a muon beam for high-resolution imaging on demand. That speed and portability create a breakthrough that unlocks orders-of-magnitude faster subsurface imaging.”

Schouten added that “our role is to demonstrate that our sensors and full data processing and analysis platform can work seamlessly with this new class of muon source, and to build the processing capacity to turn those raw muon tracks into subsurface models and decision-grade intelligence. From there, we will work with our partners to develop a commercial product that can transform imaging of large industrial and earthen structures across various vertical markets. Ideon is already the world leader in muon-based subsurface imaging for mining; investing in this next-generation capability will unlock even greater value across our growing global customer base.”

The ELI-NP campaign is one of two active muon source projects Ideon is advancing simultaneously. In parallel, Ideon was awarded funding by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) under its Reliable Ore Characterization with Keystone Sensing (ROCKS) program, a project led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). In that project, LBNL’s BELLA Center will develop a staged laser-plasma accelerator targeting 20–25 GeV electrons and muons, with Ideon contributing advanced detector technology and the Ideon REVEAL^® Subsurface Intelligence Platform^® for data fusion and 3D density imaging. Together, the ELI-NP campaign and the ARPA-E ROCKS project position Ideon at the centre of a global effort to make compact, deployable active muon sources a commercial reality for critical mineral resource development, mining operations, and beyond.

About UT Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is one of the largest research universities in the United States and a leading centre for laser-plasma physics and advanced accelerator science. The Relativistic Plasmas and Advanced Accelerators groups of Profs. B. M. Hegelich and M. C. Downer, in UT’s Department of Physics develop compact, laser-driven particle accelerators and diagnostics. Their research spans advanced particle and X-ray sources, high-power lasers, and applications in medical physics, materials science, semiconductors, and national security.

About Ideon Technologies (ideon.ai)
Ideon Technologies uses energy from supernova explosions to see deep beneath the Earth’s surface. Ideon is the global leader in subsurface intelligence, pioneering the development and adoption of cosmic-ray muon tomography for industrial markets. By turning geophysical data into reliable, multi-dimensional subsurface models, Ideon helps geologists identify, map, characterize, and monitor geological features with confidence. This reduces the risk, cost, and time associated with traditional methods—while improving returns and minimizing environmental impact across the mining value chain. Ideon’s work is helping accelerate the world’s shift to low-impact mining and transform how companies find the critical minerals required to power the clean-energy transition—improving lives and strengthening economic prosperity.

About Tau Systems Inc. (tausystems.com)
Tau Systems is a deep-tech company developing compact, high-energy laser-plasma accelerators and their applications. Built on decades of academic research at the University of Texas at Austin and beyond, Tau Systems’ technology compresses the performance of kilometre-scale particle accelerators into room-sized systems. The company’s laser-plasma accelerators are designed to enable a new generation of applications in medical physics, materials science, national security, and subsurface sensing.

About ELI-NP (eli-np.ro)
The Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) facility in Bucharest, Romania, hosts the world’s most powerful laser system, capable of delivering pulses at 10 petawatts. ELI-NP’s mission is to advance fundamental and applied research at the frontiers of nuclear physics, laser-plasma interactions, and particle acceleration. Its E6 experimental area, which houses the 10 PW laser beamline used in the OMUGA15GeV experiment, is among the most advanced laser-driven particle physics facilities in the world.

About ELI-Beamlines (eli-beams.eu)
The Extreme Light Infrastructure – ELI-Beamlines facility in Dolni Brezany, Czech Republic, hosts four world-unique high-repetition-rate high-average-power laser systems, ranging from multi-TW kHz up to 1.5 kJ, 150 fs (10 PW). ELI-Beamlines mission is to advance fundamental and applied research by generating high-energy and high-flux particle beams and photons, and their applications in biology, medicine, material science and fundamental physics.

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¹ Muons are fundamental subatomic particles similar to electrons. While they exist for only 2.2 microseconds, they move at nearly the speed of light and travel far, penetrating through almost any substance, before decaying. By measuring their directional intensity, muons can be used to map the density of subsurface features.