MAX IV and ESS
World-leading research facilities
Lund is home to the two largest research facilities in Sweden: The MAX IV Laboratory, and the European Spallation Source (ESS). They reflect the strength and attractiveness of research at Lund University.
MAX IV Laboratory
MAX IV Laboratory is a national electron accelerator laboratory for synchrotron radiation research which was inaugurated on 21 June 2016, in the presence of the Swedish King, His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf and the former Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven.
The MAX IV facility is the largest and most ambitious Swedish investment in research infrastructure and the brightest source of x-rays worldwide. It will receive more than 2 000 scientists annually from Sweden and the rest of the world.
Research takes place in areas such as materials science, structural biology, chemistry and nanotechnology.
MAX IV Laboratory is located in Lund, Sweden, and hosted by Lund University. Funders include the Swedish Research Council, VINNOVA, Lund University, Region Skåne and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
European Spallation Source (ESS)
In an area of 70 hectares in north-east Lund, ESS, a unique facility for materials research, is being built. ESS will be a multidisciplinary research facility harnessing the world’s most powerful neutron source.
The facility can be likened to a giant microscope, where neutrons are used to analyse different type of materials in detail. Researchers will be able to study materials of everyday life, from plastics and proteins to medicines and molecules, in order to understand how they are structured and function. ESS will enable future scientific breakthroughs in medicine, environmental science, climate, communication and transport.
The research infrastructure is being built and will be run by 13 European countries in wide collaboration.
Along with the neighbouring synchrotron facility MAX IV, ESS will form a unique hub for materials research and life science in Europe. The facility is planned to be fully operational and open for external researchers in 2027.
Institute of Advanced Neutron and X-ray Science (LINXS)
LINXS promotes neutron and X-ray based science and education by serving as an important link between the research facilities ESS and MAX IV and researchers from all around the world.
LINXS is a research institute that brings together world-leading scientists from Sweden and abroad for short-term focused research visits, facilitating international networks.
The institute serves as a hub for new ideas and research questions, a platform for discussions on experimental methods and new approaches, as well as a meeting point where scientists from across the globe and from various disciplines and organisations can meet and collaborate.
Established in 2017, the institute operates within well-defined strategic focus areas:
- Soft matter
- Life science
- Hard matter.
The institute's activities are organised around themes, each with its own core group, and associated working groups. These themes facilitate networks, research and activities within specific research areas that are relevant to the institute's focus areas. A Theme is a time-limited collaborative effort over three years.
Key numbers
MAX IV Laboratory
- Cost: Approximately SEK 6 billion
- Ground broken: 22 November 2010
- Inaugurated: 21 June 2016
- Currently around 300 people work at MAX IV Laboratory
ESS
- Construction and operations costs 2014-2027: EUR 3.3 billion (2013 prices)
- Construction start: 2014
- Fully operational and open for external researchers: 2028
- Number of employees when fully operational: around 500
- Estimated number of visiting researchers/users: up to 3 000/year
- Expected duration of operation: 40 years
- Annual operational cost: estimated to EUR 140 million (2013 prices)