CERN and SCK•CEN join forces to develop particle accelerators

The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN) and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) are going to work together intensively to develop high-intensity particle accelerators. The two research institutions signed a cooperation agreement on this subject in Geneva on 28 October 2013.

SCK•CEN has been involved in CERN research projects for a long time, as have various Belgian universities. The two research institutions have now decided to collaborate specifically in the field of particle accelerator technology. In practical terms this involves a particle accelerator which SCK•CEN is developing for its MYRRHA project and the HIE-ISOLDE infrastructure at CERN. MYRRHA is a multifunctional research infrastructure made up of a sub-critical reactor driven by a particle accelerator.

CERN in Geneva is a world authority in the field of accelerators. The Study Centre for Nuclear Energy has been able to build up a great deal of expertise together with numerous Belgian and European partners in the area of accelerator technology, in particular when it comes to improving the reliability of the proton bundle.

The two research institutions are going to share their knowledge and experience in the area of research into high-intensity linear accelerators and the development of high-capacity targets for the production of high-energy neutrons and radio isotopes for HIE-ISOLDE and ISOL@MYRRHA.

ISOL@MYRRHA is a research infrastructure that is to be developed within the context of the MYRRHA project, which will be deployed for an entirely new class of experiments in fundamental interactions, nuclear physics, atomic physics, the physics of solid matter, and biological and medical applications.

The two institutions will exchange researchers under the terms of this cooperation agreement and SCK•CEN will be able to make use of CERN’s infrastructure.

CERN accelerator © CERN