UK-ESS is the UK’s contribution to the ESS project.
The UK contribution has two parts – a cash contribution and an in-kind contribution. The in-kind part consists of a variety of deliverables which are matched to the UK’s research and industrial capabilities. The cash part goes towards ensuring that the team in Lund is fully staffed and that the infrastructure is provided so that when the various national in-kind contributions arrive they can be assembled into a working ESS.
The task of managing the overall £165M programme is being undertaken by the UK-ESS Project Office, under the watchful eye of the UK-ESS Project Board whose job is to ensure that the UK neutron community and associated industry get maximum value from the UK’s significant investment.
The first task for the team has been to establish which elements of the ESS should be provided by the UK. This required a careful balance to be struck balancing the needs of ESS against the capabilities and interests of the UK Neutron community. While many of the projects are being led by STFC, they will in practice largely be carried out in industry through STFC’s standard procurement routes.
At its meeting in February 2016, the UK-ESS Project Board (link) formally endorsed the following list of contributions to the ESS to be funded from the UK contribution budget. All of the work will rely heavily on procurements, much of it with local industries. Once plans for this initial set of contributions are firmed up and costs become better known, there is the potential for further contributions to be added.
Contributions to ESS accelerator:
Contributions to ESS Neutron Scattering Systems:
Contributions to ESS Target systems
The job of the small team in the UK-ESS Project Office, part funded by EU Horizon 2020 project BrightnESS, is to co-ordinate the overall programme of work in the UK, worth around £115M over several years.
The team is still being formed but will include programme management, financial, and procurement expertise and support.
The UK has been a significant player for many years in the ESS collaboration, especially via staff from STFC’s ISIS facility. The list below shows UK membership on various ESS bodies.
Committee | UK delegate |
---|---|
ESS Council | Andrew Taylor, Neil Pratt |
Science Advisory Committee (SAC) | Sylvia McLain (co-chair), Toby Perring |
Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) | Tim Broome, Mark Herron |
Administration and Finance Committee (AFC) | Neil Pratt |
Instrument collaboration Board (ICB) | Robert McGreevy |
Target Collaboration Board (TCB) | Justin Greenhalgh |
Target technical Board (TTB) | Martin Townsend |
Accelerator Collaboration Board (ACB) | Peter McIntosh |
Accelerator Technical Board (ATB) | Peter McIntosh invited |
In-Kind Review Committee (IKRC) | Justin Greenhalgh |
Environment, Safety and Health Advisory Committee (ESHAC) | Marek Jura |
We are keen for UK industry to play a major role in building the 1.8 B€ ESS project. There are three routes for industrial involvement in the ESS:
An event was held on 22 November 2016 focused on how UK industry can engage with the ESS. All presentations from the event can be found here.
The business opportunities team can help you participate in this opportunity; please contact the Tender Opportunities Team.
For further information on the opportunities available for UK industry at international facilities, please see the tender opportunities website.
Last updated: 20 November 2018