Last week a Memorandum of Understanding between the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Kjeller, Norway and the European Spallation Source Scandinavia (ESS) in Lund, Sweden was signed by the Directors of IFE and ESS.  The objective is to set in place an experimental programme between IFE and ESS now that the decision has been made that ESS is to be located in Lund. When the MoU was presented i Kjeller, Norway, the Minister for Higher Education and Research also announced that Norway, as expected, will contribute with 2.5 % of the ESS construction cost.

The cooperation will, amongst other things, result in possibilities for Swedish students to study Neutron scattering at IFE and in Lund with possibilities to use the neutron facility in Norway. There will also be shared postdoc/scientist positions at IFE for the operation of two instruments, which were transferred from the neutron facility in Studsvik, Sweden, now closed.

- We are convinced that expansion and development of cooperation between the two organizations will contribute to further consolidate scientific and technological cooperation between Norway and Sweden, says Professor Colin Carlile, Director of ESS Scandinavia. Ten years ahead of time, these are the first neutron beams of the ESS project. It is necessary to start now with the development of specialised techniques whilst the design and construction goes on so that we are ready for the first scientific users in 2019.

With the intentions described in the memorandum to collaborate on development of electronics and/or detectors, IFE actively contributes to the building of ESS, the world's most powerful neutron source, in Lund.