Status and perspectives of heavy ion driven ICF in Europe

A heavy ion driver accelerator to heat and compress matter for inertial fusion energy is discussed within the framework of the European Study Group on a `Heavy Ion Driven Ignition Facilityʹ. The goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of an RF linac and storage ring-based scheme for high repetition rate ignition consistent with an indirectly driven low-gain target. A key issue in the envisaged current multiplication scheme is the control of space charge effects in the storage rings to minimize emittance growth and beam loss. Accelerator development at GSI relevant to driver key issues is discussed.