Nuclear physics center in Magurele moves closer to implementation

This news article is from May 30:
Businessreview.ro: Nuclear physics center in Magurele moves closer to implementation
A total of 28 companies, including 11 Romanian ones, have so far expressed interest in the Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) project, which will mark a premiere in physics: the intersection of a high-power laser beam and a brilliant high-energy gamma beam.

By Otilia Haraga

ELI-NP is one of the three pillars of ELI, or Extreme Light Infrastructure. It will be built near Bucharest, at the premises of the Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (HHNIPNE). The other two pillars will be built in the Czech Republic (the ELI Beamlines Facility) and Hungary (the Attosecond facility).

Interested companies include Thales, Quantel, Cristal Laser, Continuum, Amplitude, IBM, Gerb, XIA, Anchor and DILO, according to Nicolae Victor Zamfir, GM of the HHNIPNE. The International Atomic Energy Agency and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency are also interested in some nuclear applications, he said.

In December 2010, the Romanian government made ELI-NP a priority project for Romania.

“This infrastructure we hope will not only stop the brain drain but will reverse it. I’m waiting for the moment when the German authorities complain that too many Germans are leaving for Romania,” joked Zamfir during a conference organized by KPMG on the subject.

Romania was chosen to host ELI-NP because of the know-how available here. “There is expertise in Magurele both in the domain of lasers and nuclear physics. After Germany, France and Great Britain, the best expertise in nuclear physics can be found in Romania. You cannot build something in a place where you don’t have expertise,” Zamfir told BR.

The project is expected to make Romania an important scientific hub for talent and know-how. It should also bring international visibility, and create 214 new high-qualified jobs in research and tech support.

The center will be based in Magurele, near Bucharest. “Why the Bucharest-Ilfov region? If a research infrastructure is built in the middle of nowhere, no scientists will want to go there. You also need infrastructure and a social life. A capital offers this kind of thing,” said Zamfir.

The project’s prospects look good, said the GM. “There is a chance that the Romanian government will not approve the project and also that our project is not good enough. However, the chances are close to nil because we have already sent the draft project for a preliminary evaluation in January-March. It was scrutinized and all the results were extraordinarily positive.” This was carried out by JASPERS (Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions).

The total cost of the ELI-NP project in Romania will be EUR 280 million, excluding VAT. Of this sum, the state has to cover 17 percent from its budget. “The project in Romania is the most important of the three because it is the most complex and has the highest value,” said Zamfir.

The EUR 280 million will be divided as follows: buildings EUR 65 million, lasers EUR 80 million, gamma beam EUR 60 million, equipment EUR 30 million, contingences EUR 15 million and other expenses about EUR 30 million.

“We are limited by two factors: one is that structural funds at this stage should be spent by 2015. Also, what this project requires in terms of tools – the laser and the gamma beam – have to be conceived, you cannot buy them from anywhere. This means R&D. The time that physicists believe is necessary to develop these instruments is at least three and a half years,” said Zamfir.

However, there will also be operational costs to cover. “This infrastructure needs to be maintained. We estimated the necessary power at 5 MW, for instance. This costs a great deal. The feasibility study stipulates a green source of energy with 100 heat pumps around so that the energy is provided via heat exchange. This would be the first time in Europe when you can do this kind of thing at industrial level,” Zamfir told BR.

The high costs will be covered by national and European funds. “This started and will remain a European project and the European Commission needs to get involved in it. One third would be covered from the state budget, a third from Brussels and one third from private projects where companies would need to carry out certain experiments and pay for them,” he added.