ESS, Lund
ESS, Lund
The world’s most modern research facility
Right now in Lund, Sweden, Skanska is building what will be a cross-discipline research facility based on the world’s most powerful neutron source. Here, researchers worldwide will be able to study future materials in detail. Skanska has signed a cooperation agreement with ESS, European Spallation Source, to construct the buildings and infrastructure for the research unit.
ESS is a joint European research facility to which 17 member countries are contributing competence and financing. This is referred to as a spallation facility, which means that protons are shot away almost at the speed of light through an accelerator tunnel and when they then collide with the target – a helium-cooled wheel – the neutrons are released and are led away to experimental stations in long glass tubes.
The instruments at the facility can be compared to a gigantic microscope that permits the study of materials at the molecular and atomic levels. It will be possible to use the facility in a series of sciences such as medicine, biology, chemistry, physics and technology.
In cooperation with ESS, Skanska’s assignment includes planning and building the shell and infrastructure for the research facility. The cooperation agreement was signed in February 2014. The construction project is planned for a number of stages, with the signing of a new agreement at the beginning of each stage.
When ESS is commissioned, some 500 people will work there, many of whom will be researchers. The facility will be a meeting place for researchers worldwide and is expected to attract 2,000-3,000 researchers each year. The research will contribute to many exciting results in the areas of materials research, renewable energy, biomedicine and pharmaceuticals.