In a ceremony in Madrid today, Spain and Sweden agreed to collaborate in order to build the European Spallation Source in Lund, Sweden. This is the beginning of a new, collaborative phase in the 15 year history of the ESS.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed today by the Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation Cristina Garmendia and the Swedish Minister of Research and Higher Education Lars Leijonborg. The agreement means that Spain will contribute to the ESS in Lund with a site for testing of ESS components and a facility for manufacturing of certain accelerator components in Bilbao, as well as a remote access center for Spanish scientists.

– We are very happy about this agreement between the two former ESS contenders, says professor Colin Carlile, Director of ESS Scandinavia. This is the beginning of a new phase in the ESS project’s 15 year history. We have now clearly moved from the competitive phase to true collaboration.

- We are grateful for the trust that has been shown in Lund as the site for ESS. And we warmly welcome all of those who want to contribute to build a next-generation science facility to fit the needs of tomorrow’s researchers.

- In order to build an ESS that will contribute to the best science, we need all of the available international expertise. Not least the essential expertise that has been built up within the ESS Bilbao and ESS Hungary teams will strengthen our facility.

- The ESS will also strengthen the European neutron community as such. The ESS is part of the wider European cooperation in neutron-based research. It’s the diversity and complementarity of European neutron sources that has made European neutron science world-leading, and the ESS will contribute to maintain and extend this lead, concludes Colin Carlile.