Science & Technology

Work at the Institut Laue-Langevin on the ILL 20/20 project  is integral to the sustained development of ILL's service provision. It is instrumental in the preparation and delivery of initiatives to boost the overall efficiency of ILL’s instrument suite by a factor of thirty by 2011. It will thus strengthen ILL’s world-leading position and provide for the future scientific needs of its users.

ILL 20/20 project is part of the ESFRI European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures Road Map, the European Commission’s strategic initiative to develop the scientific integration of Europe and to strengthen its international outreach.

ILL looks to improve the visibility and research capability of the common site it shares with its sister laboratories, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).

ILL is assisting the ESRF in the implementation of its own upgrade programme, by providing expertise and assisting in the delivery of their ESRFI project ESRF-Upgrade  Key activities centre around the discussion and definition of the individual scientific and technological projects, as well as the examination of the consequences on the local site infrastructure in terms of access, buildings and environment. The most ambitious part of the ESRF-UP project is the creation of a European high magnetic field laboratory on the site.

ILL also contributes indirectly to ESFRI projects being undertaken by fellow members of the council of European Intergovernmental Research Organisations (EIROforum)  to include: the CERN  LHC upgrade,   EMBL’s ELIXIR , and EURO-BioImaging  projects, and ESO’s ELT  project, through the offer of resources, facilities and expertise.

The ESFRI projects are funded by the European Commission under its FP7 "Capacities Specific Programme – Research Infrastructures". Through these projects ILL addresses the ESFRI central mission to: maintain a coherent and strategy-led approach to policy-making on research infrastructures in Europe;  and to facilitate multilateral initiatives leading to the better use and development of research infrastructures, at EU and international level.