The European Spallation Source for Neutron Research (ESS) in Lund, Sweden has chosen E.ON as its energy partner.
The cooperation includes energy solutions such as cooling, compressed air and the recovery of surplus energy as well as the supply of renewable energy to the large-scale research facility. The partnership is planned throughout the planned ESS lifespan, until 2065.
The European prestigious ESS project is creating the world’s most powerful neutron source. Basic research will be carried out there for a number of sciences such as chemistry, biology, geophysics and materials science. Since 2015, the ESS has been built, financed and later operated by a European consortium of 15 countries.
In particular, the research facility requires different types of cooling, which simultaneously generates heat for Lund’s district heating network. The heat generated by ESS covers 20 percent of the district heating requirements of the city’s 90,000 inhabitants. ESS and E.ON will also work together to develop resource-efficient ways of recovering surplus energy from research.
“With the concept of energy recovery, we have found an efficient solution that is tailor-made for our partner ESS and at the same time sets an example for the development of sustainable cities,” says Bernd Schumacher, CEO of E.ON Connecting Energies. “We can implement this intelligent concept because our partner ESS and E.ON are committed to sustainable energy supply and do not allow energy wastage.”
“Sustainability is one of the core values of ESS and we aim to set a new standard for big science facilities. This agreement is an important step to fulfil that goal, and E.ON, having helped us develop our energy management solution, will be an excellent partner for ESS as we seek to become one of the most environmentally sustainable research centres in the world,” said John Womersley, ESS Director General.
