14th ESS IKON meeting held in Paris

Feb 21, 2018
Twice a year, ESS arranges an IKON meeting to facilitate dialogue and coordination between the many instrument design groups and the ESS. The latest edition was held February 12-15 in Paris and it was clear that the instruments are approaching construction.

IKON has evolved from a small workshop where new ideas were proposed to a fully booked conference with 200 participants discussing CE-Marking, design of knots, and delivery procedures for materials. This reflects how many instruments will move from design to construction within the next year. Special attention went into the bunker design where limited access and remote handling requires a high degree of standardisation and material choices are restricted. ESS discussed several of these standards and how quality control for sensitive areas will be implemented.

As a new feature, the program had several slots for ad-hoc meetings where the many participants from all over Europe could use the opportunity to have face-to-face discussions. This was very well received and the conference hotel was buzzing with meetings between instrument groups, ESS coordinators, and potential suppliers.

The meeting also included a tour of the CEA, including a lunch in a decommissioned nuclear test reactor from the 1960’s.

The next IKON meeting will be at ESS in Autumn 2018. At that time, ESS will be closing in on the 50% finished mark. ESS proposed a tour of the, at that time, almost complete building for the long instruments, which will allow participants to get a feel of the actual instrument surroundings.