Summer updates from ESS

Highest BREEAM Certification awarded to ESS Office

At the end of June, ESS received the official BREEAM certificate acknowledging that the ESS Office has achieved an Outstanding level, the highest rating in the international sustainability assessment for buildings, with one of the highest scores worldwide (91.5%). ESS's strong focus on sustainability in its construction and operation has lead to new sustainability standards for research infrastructures worldwide.

“Since the beginning, ESS has had a very strong sustainability focus, aiming to become one of the most environmentally sustainable research infrastructures worldwide,” says Kent Hedin, ESS Head of Conventional Facilities. “We decided even before the construction of the facility started in 2014 to use BREEAM as a backbone for our sustainability requirements. The Outstanding rating is proof that all our efforts and hard work, together with our partners, to build the facility in a sustainable way have been successful.”

Read the article

ESS Council updated on progress and challenges

The ESS Council convened for a digital meeting last week with 25 delegates representing the 13 member states in attendance. This was the 25th meeting of its kind and on the table for discussion, was the progress achieved so far and challenges being faced.

During the meeting, Acting ESS Director General, Kevin Jones, updated the ESS Council on the overall ESS status, covering construction progress, challenges, and the impact of COVID-19, followed by reports from the In-Kind Review Committee and the Administration & Finance Committee.

Following dialogues at previous Council meetings, ESS has continued to refine an action plan for how to mitigate delays and cost increases, primarily driven by the pandemic and technical challenges.

Read the article

ESS Activity Report 2020 now available online

In spite of the major disruptions of the global pandemic, ESS accomplished a surprisingly large part of what it set out to achieve during the year, allowing the project to evolve from a construction site into a scientific facility where critical infrastructure and components were being installed.

While many of the ESS in-kind partners across Europe responsible for providing ESS equipment and components faced lockdowns in their home countries and supply chain delays, and while work at ESS was affected by delays as a result of travel restrictions, ESS and its family of partners worked hard to keep people safe while still keeping the project moving forward. Learn more about ESS successes, challenges and adaptations during 2020 in our latest Activity Report here.

Read the article

July 2021 construction updates and photos

As ESS moves toward commissioning of the accelerator, completion of the target station and construction of the first instruments, you can keep track of the detailed progress both out on the site and inside the buildings on the ESS weekly site updates page. 

See most recent update photos