ESS cannot be built just anywhere. There are some very stringent requirements to be met: the geology must be very stable, the ESS consumes a lot of power, and it needs water for cooling, and so on. Of course, ESS would benefit from already existing technical and scientific expertise, adequate transport infrastructure, infrastructural provisions and management capabilities, and from an attractive social and lively international environment. But that leaves still many options open and the site for the ESS has yet not be decided. A number of regions of excellence will compete to host the facility. They have good reasons to do so.

The ESS will not only be a flagship of the European research area, it will also greatly benefit the country's local and national economy. ESS will be a major construction project: constructing a project with an investment of 1.55 billion € will create two thousand direct and indirect jobs.

But it is not only the amount that determines the impact.

It is technically very demanding, and will attract many high-tech companies. Thousands of scientists will visit ESS and the host region each year, turning it into a truly international centre. It will have a house staff of 600 to 700 persons. The skills and the engineering activities needed to operate ESS create an environment for a buzzing range of companies, engineering consultancies and research departments of international companies. It will promote new, cooperative links between science and industry.


The flourishing science park around the world's most powerful research reactor at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, France, is a convincing example for such a scenario. And there will of course be the longer-term advantages that will accrue as research at the ESS leads to the development of new products and materials. Thus it is hardly surprising that a number of countries, including Germany, Britain, France and the Scandinavian countries, want to provide a home to the ESS. The outcome is still open.



Should you wish to express your interest to host the ESS click here for a guideline (PDF, 1827 KB)