Explore ESS
Discover more about the European Spallation Source: what it is, how it works and why it matters.
ESS (full name: European Spallation Source ERIC) is a research facility under construction in Lund (Sweden), with its data management and software centre located outside Copenhagen (Denmark).
When completed, ESS will be the world’s most powerful accelerator-based source of neutrons. Scientists will use these particles to study the properties and behaviour of materials - right down to the level of atoms.
Funded by 13 European countries*, this big-science facility is built with contribution from more than 40 research institutes in Europe, and with knowledge and know-how from many research centres worldwide. ESS attracts people from diverse fields and cultures who share the excitement of building a state-of-the-art facility to enable great science and innovation for a sustainable world.
The construction of the facility is ongoing. Follow the progress of the ESS Road to Science on our social media.
You can also follow our live public operations screen that shows the status of parts of the machine as they become operational.
*Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom
Every year, thousands of researchers from academia and industry will use the ESS facility to learn more about materials, unlocking discoveries and driving innovative solutions to address some of humanity’s biggest challenges in energy, health and the environment.
With the help of neutrons, scientists will be able to understand materials and matter at a deeper level than ever before, investigating deep inside objects, obeserving where the atoms are and how they behave. This can help researchers design new materials for better batteries, greener plastics or stronger engineering structures. Or, it could help life science researchers develop new vaccines or more effective medicines.
Up to 3,000 researchers from around the world will come to ESS each year to carry out experiments on samples of the materials they are studying. Many will also visit MAX IV Laboratory, the neighbouring synchrotron light source, where they can get complementary data about their samples using X-rays.
At ESS, scientists will carry out research in the following areas:
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Life Sciences |
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Magnetism & Superconductivity |
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Soft-Condensed Matter |
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Engineering & Geo-Sciences |
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Chemistry of Materials |
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Energy Research |
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Fundamental & Particle Physics |
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Archaeology & Heritage Conversation |
Future Science
Curious about the future science at ESS? Read more here.
ESS is an accelerator-based neutron source designed to provide a large number of neutrons with the right energy for the researchers to use.
Neutrons are generated through a process called spallation and then slowed down to the desired energy and guided to the scientific instruments, as shown below.
Neutron instruments use different technologies to investigate various properties of materials.
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