Image: ESS
Major planned research infrastructure’s deal with Spanish partner was five years in the making
The European Spallation Source, a research infrastructure being built in Sweden based around “the world’s most powerful neutron source”, has announced that it has secured the final in-kind contribution needed to complete its construction.
The “important agreement” between the ESS and its Spanish partner ESS Bilbao, announced on 28 August, took five years to negotiate and “sets the stage” for the project’s overall success, its director-general Helmut Schober said.
The facility under construction in Lund suffered delays and cost increases due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the agreement with ESS Bilbao is the “final piece in ESS’s in-kind partnership puzzle”, it said.
“The signing…represents the successful conclusion of a long and challenging negotiation process. This landmark is a testament to the collaboration, perseverance and strategic partnership between ESS and ESS Bilbao, setting the stage for the successful realisation of one of Europe’s most significant research infrastructure projects,” said Schober.
Division head Mark Robinson said the deal “solidifies ESS’s legally binding commitments with all its in-kind partners”.
The ESS is intended to be a multidisciplinary infrastructure supporting research in fields including materials, health and the environment.
Denmark is hosting the ESS’s data management, and 11 other European countries are part of the consortium supporting the facility, which is eventually expected to enable research by two to three thousand researchers per year.