The Basque Technological Centre will lead part of the updating of the design of the main European scientific infrastructure, through an agreement valued at around €4m.
The Technical Management of the European Source will meet tomorrow and the day after at the Tekniker-IK4 headquarters in Eidar to develop the working plan up to 2012

Over the next two years, Tekniker-IK4 will lead part of the upgrading design of the new European Spallation Source (ESS), headquartered in Lund (Sweden), with developments valued at around 4 million Euros. The Basque Technological Centre will lead the project at European level, which consists of updating the design of the accelerator and the connecting systems required for its correct running: a critical element of the facility.

As such, Tekniker-IK4 will be part of the team that will define the largest scientific facility in Europe, and count upon collaboration from the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, the French National Institute of Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics (IN2P3), the prestigious German Electron Synchrotron Facility (DESY), and the North American SNS, as well as leading companies in the sector such as Air Liquide, Linde, etc.

As a result, from tomorrow, the Tekniker-IK4 headquarters in Eibar will become the chosen location for the Technical Management of the European Spallation Source in Sweden to finalise the details of the work carried out collaboratively, as well as develop the working plan and the mechanics of follow-up and monitoring of its next activities. The task of updating the design of this scientific infrastructure is expected to be finished in 2012.

The work in the Basque Technological Centre will be focussed on updating a broad package of technological solutions which includes, amongst others, the electric system for linear acceleration; the generation, maintenance and control system for the high vacuum in the beam cavity; the development of the cryogenic plant which supplies liquid helium to the accelerator cavities; and the development and modelling of working prototypes of its parts.

The work will deal with a scientific and technological challenge of great magnitude, given the uniqueness, complexity and dimensions of the largest scientific facility project in Europe, which has entrusted one of its critical aspects of implementation to Tekniker-IK4, as a result of its experience and specialisation in scientific facilities and precision engineering.

Tekniker-IK4's role is also to form a link between the Spallation Source design updating Project and the consortium that will take charge of its construction: the link between the machine design and the constructors. One of the project goals is for the Basque Centre to open its doors to future participation of Spanish industry in the construction of the European Spallation Source.

On a technological level, one of the Basque Centre's main challenges is to improve the efficiency of this type of facility to reduce energy consumption, its associated cost and the ecological impact of the installation. In fact, Tekniker-IK4 will coordinate the ESS bid for renewable energy sources, and will attempt to maximise the consumption of energy covered by renewable sources.

ESS: the most powerful source of neutrons in the World

The aim of the European Scientific Community with this project is to achieve its position at the global forefront of this type of technology, overtaking the current leaders in this sphere, the USA and Japan.

Since its beginnings in 2009, the ESS Project has gone through the preconstruction phase, which will culminate at the end of 2012 and when the updating of the design in which Tekniker-IK4 will work will be presented. Source implementation is expected for 2019, and it is hoped that it will be fully functioning by 2025. The complete cost of the facility has been estimated at 1,480 million Euros.

Its important and varied applications will convert ESS into a frontrunner on a world scale for a scientific facility in industrial research and development. From a scientific perspective, it will open up a whole new world of opportunities for researchers in a vast range of knowledge subjects: chemistry, energy, nanotechnology, environmental engineering, food and pharmaceutical research.

The Neutron Source can be compared to a gigantic microscope, where neutrons are used to probe matter while connected high precision instruments allow detailed analysis to be carried out on the samples taken.

Without a doubt, ESS will contribute to increasing our understanding surrounding the laws of nature, and the results of the research using ESS will be fundamental for technological and scientific progress. Since the birth of the idea in 1993, more than 300 scientists from 11 countries have taken part in the definition of the initiative, in a development which has already been running for more than 15 years.

Tekniker-IK4's experience

One of the determining factors in the selection of Tekniker-IK4 as a key agent in the implementation phase of ESS has been its experience in carrying out scientific developments for large European facilities. In fact, four of them already rely on Basque technology, thanks to its participation in their projects. Over the past ten years the Technological Centre has carried out more than ten scientific developments for these facilities, and has several more in the pipeline.

With almost 30 years of experience in the research of applied technology and in its transfer to enterprises, the Tekniker-IK4 Technological Centre has achieved a high level of specialisation in four extensive areas (Precision Engineering and Mechatronics, Surface Engineering, Production Engineering and Automation, and Manufacturing Technologies), which enables it to apply its cutting-edge technological services to practice in any type of task.

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