Report from the 11th ESS Council Meeting

The European Spallation Source ERIC Council met in Lund on December 7-8 for it's 11th meeting. 

1. Council noted the very positive progress on the project since its last meeting, with continued good progress in construction and on-site installation, making special note of the shipment of the accelerator's ion source to Lund, which arrived Tuesday from Catania, Italy. The ion source is an in-kind contribution from the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics' National Laboratory of the South (INFN-LNS).
2. Council noted the excellent performance of the ESS moderator design, which will deliver almost the same neutron performance at the initial 2 MW accelerator power as originally foreseen at 5 MW.
3. 
   Council were informed at the meeting about the financial status of the project and took note of the challenges that have arisen. These are related to the impact of new construction requirements covering radiation protection and an increased attention to security. Council thanked management for the large amount of work done in evaluating the impact of these issues. Council agreed to continue to address these challenges with a goal of resolving them by the end of 2018.
4. Council also discussed the initial operations funding for the facility, which will start in 2019 as foreseen.
5. Spain acknowledged being in the final stages of their internal process to formally apply for membership in the ERIC, with the aim to become a founding member before summer.
6. The budget for 2018, including the move to the new site offices, was unanimously approved by Council.

• The Chair's Summary for Council 11 can be downloaded here.