The Synchrotron SOLEIL has received funding within the France Relance plan to modernize its chilled water production station.
To learn more, this video, filmed during the summer of 2022 when the new building was being erected, presents the issues as well as some of the players in the project.
The current water cooling station, which has been in operation since the synchrotron started up in 2006, supplies the various water networks that cool the electron accelerator and the beamlines equipment , as well as air conditioning of the various buildings. In the synchrotron building, the cooling of the equipment and the temperature stability of the storage ring tunnel and of the experimental hall contribute to the excellent stability of the beams on the beamlines, which our users appreciate.
However, the energy and environmental costs of this station are too high, due to its excessive consumption of drinking water and electricity compared to the possibilities offered by more modern concepts.
Thanks to the government's allocation of €12.67 million (incl. VAT) to SOLEIL in 2020 as part of the France Recovery Plan, a new building, called T7, will replace the current cooling station. It will house the "Fluids" production of the synchrotron building, to which it will be connected by a technical gallery.
The building permit for the new station was validated in June 2021, and work began in early 2022.
Here is, in images, a presentation of the stakes, notably technical and environmental, of this project, as well as some of the people who contribute to its implementation and progress.
Video length: 5 min 53
