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Significant Hungarian R&D export to the European Spallation Source
Significant Hungarian R&D export to the European Spallation Source
27 January 2016
Modified: 14 December 2017
Reading time: 7 minute(s)
With the support of the NRDI Office Hungarian partners have been able to make a real breakthrough in the new model of Hungary’s engagement in international science and research infrastructures.

More than two-thirds of the EUR 1.6 million annual membership fee of the European Spallation Source (ESS) currently under construction in Sweden will be returned to Hungarian suppliers who can provide competitive research and development services for the development. The multi-annual contracts signed so far already represent a “science export” from Hungary in value of EUR 4 million.

Altough integration into large international research infrastructures is a considerable burden for countries like Hungary, it is an exceptional research opportunity without wich our country would lag behind cutting-edge international research and development. Providing access for Hungarian researchers to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, CERN), to the world’s largest experimental nuclear fusion reactor (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, ITER) or to the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL), an X-ray research laser facility in Hamburg, Germany is rather costly. By contrast participating in the ESS, currently under construction, presents a breakthrough solution that is consonant with the endeavours of other European countries: it is a project in which, during the construction phase, orders will be awarded to Hungarian research institutes, SME's and large corporations in a value equivalent to 70 percent of the membership contribution paid by Hungary. Thus more than two-thirds of our contributions will be “re-invested” in the Hungarian R&D sector, wich – in addition to moral credit and financial benefits – will result in a major boost for the economy through capacity enhancements, creation of new jobs and additional orders placed with Hungarian suppliers. In light of the experiences gained from the first successful Hungarian deliveries, József Pálinkás, President of the NRDI Office who formerly carried on negotiations to establish favorable conditions of Hungarian ESS membership as the President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and later as Government Commissioner responsible for Research, Development and Innovation deems it important to continue to promote the development of participation schemes in international research infrastructures that enable members to contribute as large as possible proportion of their membership fees in the form of research and development services, reinforcing R&D capabilities in Hungary.

Professor Ferenc Mezei, ordinary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and ESS Technical Coordinator emphasized: “The construction of a state-of-the-art science facility such as the ESS is a top scientific challenge in itself both in terms of research and industrial innovation, wich opens further opportunities for development and growth. The scientific, technological and economic development of the members’ will be encouraged by the new R&D jobs and capabilities created by the project at least as much as by the future research results to be achieved through the scientific infrastructures .” He added that the prompt establishment of the European Spallation Source as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) was enabled by the commitment of the Hungarian Government, as Hungary was the third – following Sweden and Denmark, the host countries of the project – to officially join the founding members. The establishment of the consortium was exemplary in terms of quick administrative preparation and decision-making. “The efficient collaboration between the NRDI Office and three academic research institutes is brilliantly demonstrated by the fact that MTA Atomki, the Institute for Nuclear Research at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was the first to sign a contract for a EUR 500 million+ accelerator unit to be supplied for ESS”, highlighted the professor who developed a novelty long impulse concept that will be used in the future neutron source.

Of the Hungarian businesses, evopro Innovation Kft. was among the first to be awarded a role as a supplier to the new contracts. Coordinated by the Institute for Nuclear Research (Atomki) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the EUR 2.2 million project is expected to be implemented in three years, and evopro will be responsible for product development and the supply of control systems. Evopro, which also contributes to the development of the control engineering systems of the Nuclear Power Plant of Paks and is a system integrator partner for large companies such as Arreva and Siemens is consciously building its image to become a globally renowned player in physics research projects. “It is a huge opportunity for us, our successful participation can not only bring further orders from ESS, but it will also serve as an excellent reference for similar projects, e.g. at ELI or ITER tenders”, dr. János Vámosi, area manager of evopro explains.

But why is this project so important? The European Union wants to keep pace with the United States, Japan and East-Asia in scientific research. To this end, large European research infrastructures have been and are being built, such as the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) or, as it is commonly referred to, the “superlaser lab”, one site of which is located in Szeged, Hungary. The European Spallation Source being constructed in Lund, Sweden, aims to become a world leader in neutron research, an area that plays an increasingly important role in biotechnology research, energy, material sciences and info-communications technology. The project launched in 2014 will cost more thanEUR 1.8 billion+ in total and is expected to be completed in 2023. When completed, the facility’s total capacity will be ten times the capacity of similar neutron sources in the United States or Japan. Hungary undertook to pay EUR 17.6 million (about HUF 5.5 billion on today's exchange rate) approximately 1 percent of the construction costs covered by the 17 founding members. in membership contribution during the 11 years of the construction. Of this contribution, EUR 12.3 million (close to HUF 4 billion) can be offset by supplies from Hungarian suppliers.

The practice is that specific institutions of the member states can compete for work packages defined and priced in the so-called Cost Book of the project. The offers are evaluated by the scientific, technical and administration committees of tESS which means that no quality concessions are allowed, and the most capable applicants are selected on the basis of purely professional criteria. Hungarian applicants have a competitive edge, namely that Hungarian experts are considered to be among the best in nuclear physics, neutron research and the manufacturing of related instruments and equipment. Furthermore, an industrial base that already succeeded to enter this export market has been established in Hungary. References and reputation gained through successful deliveries are very important in the fierce competition, especially in the high-tech industry. Due to this reputation three Hungarian academic institutes – the Wigner Research Centre for Physics at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Centre for Energy Research at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Debrecen-based Institute for Nuclear Research (Atomki) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences – have been able to secure supplies in the value of EUR 4 billion for the coming years, directly involving several Hungarian SME’s and two large corporations which will also contract additional 15–20 subcontractors to provide various supplies for the project. Under the signed contracts, the Institute for Nuclear Research (Atomki) will develop and manufacture electronic protection systems that control the operation of ESS’ particle accelerator units andthe Wigner Research Centre for Physics and the Centre for Energy Research will supply subassemblies for NMX biological material and structure inspection equipment.

Updated: 14 December 2017
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