03/06/2025
Green light to extend operations until 2033 at the ILL, the world-leading facility in neutron science and technology: the Institute has just received a firm commitment from its Associate countries, France, the UK and Germany, to continue operation until 2033.
The National Research Council of Italy (Cnr) manages an agreement ensuring the involvement of the Italian scientific community to the facility .
“We have been working very hard to secure a unanimous commitment from all three Associate countries and are delighted with the decision,” says ILL Director, Ken Andersen, “The ILL is now in a position to plan scientific operation until the end of 2033”.
The 6th Protocol – extending the original 1967 Intergovernmental Convention for a further 10-year period, from 2024 to 2033, and representing a global investment of about €1bn – was signed by the governments of the Associate countries in 2021. However, operation beyond the end of 2030 was subject to later approval, which has now been granted by the three governments. Having this decision now is crucial, as preparation processes are lengthy and complex.
“We can immediately start the process of securing the fuel needed for reactor operation as of 2031,“ points out Jerome Estrade, Assistant Director responsible for reactor management. A symbol of European collaboration and excellence, the ILL was founded in Grenoble in 1967 by France and Germany, who were joined a few years later by the UK.
Today, a further 10 Scientific Member countries help fund the ILL for the benefit of their research communities: Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The three Associate countries contribute roughly 75% of the ILL's budget, with the Scientific Member countries providing most of the remaining amount. "The Associates, as well as, I anticipate, all the scientific members contributing to the ILL who are also just learning the news, are delighted with this fantastic decision by the three Research Ministries to extend the ILL's operation until 2033. This new impetus will enable Europe to continue to play a leading role in the scientific field of neutronics for the next ten years, especially with the forthcoming emergence of ESS.", declares Michel Guidal, chair of the ILL Steering Commitee.
The ILL is constantly preparing for the future – upgrading its facilities to ensure compliance with the latest safety standards, while at the same time improving scientific performance. The completion of the Endurance upgrade programme in 2024 marks the latest milestone in two decades of continuous investment in scientific infrastructures, instruments and services.
“The Endurance programme has placed the ILL in its strongest position ever in terms of technical capability and capacity. The 43-instrument suite is the largest, most diverse and most capable ever seen at the ILL, or indeed anywhere else in the world,” states Andreas Meyer, ILL’s German Associate Director and Technical Director, adding that “ILL's expertise in neutron technologies is invaluable and will be fundamental for the future of neutron scattering in Europe, including in critical areas such as neutron optics, neutron detectors, sample environments, instrument control, and data analysis.”
The ILL operates a 58-MW, high-flux research reactor, providing the most intense neutron beams in the world to a suite of state-of-the-art neutron scattering instruments, enabling a large and diverse scientific community of visiting academic and industrial researchers to make new scientific and technological advances. The impact of the ILL ranges from scientific discovery and excellence to addressing societal challenges in the fields of health, energy, the environment and quantum materials.
“Our task now is to put in place a science strategy to ensure that we maximise the use of our instrument suite to deliver scientific and societal impact, consolidating existing strengths and supporting emerging scientific areas of societal relevance,” says ILL’s French Associate Director and Science Director, Jacques Jestin. Recent discussions within the scientific community and beyond highlight the need for a coherent European roadmap for neutron scattering.
The success of new neutron sources – in particular the European Spallation Source in Lund (Sweden), which is expected to deliver its first neutrons to the instruments early next year – will depend critically on the knowledge and technology available at current facilities, in particular the ILL, and on the vibrant research community they support. “Europe is currently reflecting on the large-scale investments needed to ensure its future competitiveness, and closing the innovation gap is a key driver. The ILL has flourished over many decades by adapting to a changing world and is now, more than ever, ready to contribute to European competitiveness as a cornerstone of the European neutron landscape,” concludes Ken Andersen.