Estonia has become the first ESS Member State to deliver all in-kind contributions for ESS construction, showcasing the nation’s scientific expertise and reinforcing European collaboration in building the world’s leading neutron source.
ESS is often described as a giant microscope. One that uses neutrons instead of light to see inside materials. It is a very complex microscope – rather like a giant jigsaw puzzle, where cutting-edge equipment and systems come together through technological and scientific expertise provided by more than 100 institutes from the 13 Member States of ESS. These in-kind partners design, develop and build key components such as instruments, the target station, the accelerator and the integrated control systems.
In a significant achievement for both ESS and Estonia, the country has become the first ESS Member State to complete and deliver all in-kind projects for the construction phase of ESS. The University of Tartu and the Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) have contributed hardware and software for the accelerator, several instruments and sample production. Building on the country’s expertise in cybersecurity, the cybersecurity assessment, development, training and risk assessment that will be used to monitor and control the safe operation of the accelerator, target and instruments carries the Estonian flag.
“Being a member of ESS is key to the Estonian scientific vision of being part of large European research infrastructures. Delivering all our in-kind projects for the construction phase of ESS underscores our reliability as partners in this visionary project. For us, it is a tremendous boost to the scientific community in Estonia”, says Piret Pikma, Director of the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Tartu and Coordinator of the In-kind Contributions to ESS.
For Helmut Schober, ESS Director General, “ESS is a powerful example of what European collaboration can achieve when we harness excellence from across the continent. It is a great pleasure to see Estonia reach this important milestone by delivering its contributions for the ESS construction phase. Estonia brings valuable and sophisticated expertise to the project, and we look forward to strengthening our partnership even further. This collaboration will benefit Estonia’s scientific community, its industry, ESS, and Europe as a whole.”
