Laser-plasma accelerators (LPA) will be at the core of next-generation accelerators and user facilities. Advancing LPA core technologies, including the development of high average power drive lasers, is an integral part of DESY's accelerator R&D.
We will discuss our roadmap for drive laser and laser-plasma R&D and present recent developments and results, including the integration of our laser-plasma accelerator in an accelerator-grade controls system; the application of machine learning techniques to improve the electron beam quality; and give an update on the development of KALDERA, DESY's flagship LPA drive laser currently under development.