Servelec Controls, a leading integrator of control and safety systems for critical industries, has been contracted to play key role in strengthening the integrated control systems for what will become the world’s most powerful next-generation scientific research project.
The European Spallation Source (ESS) is a multi-disciplinary research facility currently under construction in Lund, Sweden. The vision is to build the world’s most powerful pulsed neutron source, enabling scientific breakthroughs in research related to materials, energy, health and the environment, and addressing some of the most important societal challenges of our time.
The €1.84 billion construction comprises one of the largest active infrastructure projects in Europe and will enable scientists to see and understand basic atomic structures and forces, at a level unachievable at other existing neutron sources.
Servelec Controls will be working onsite, full-time at the ESS construction site in Sweden to act as both consultant and PLC software developer, in order to strengthen the execution of software development activities for the world-class science facility.
The company will support the Personnel Safety System Team and be involved in the design, implementation and functional verification of safety software for the control systems, personnel safety systems and machine protection systems for the ESS facility.
The ESS will use spallation, a process in which fragments of material (spall) are ejected from a body following impact or stress. A linear accelerator will accelerate protons into a rotating, helium-cooled tungsten target which will then emit intense pulses of neutrons, led through beamlines to experimental stations, where research is undertaken on different materials. This will help discover and develop new materials with applications in manufacturing, pharmaceutical drugs, aerospace, engines, plastics, energy, telecommunications, transportation, information technology and biotechnology. The integrated control system will monitor and control most of the operational aspects at the facility.
ESS will provide neutron beams up to 100 times brighter than any current neutron source and is also designed to be one of the world’s most environmentally sustainable research facilities.
