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Pivotal data centre opens in Copenhagen

The world's most advanced neutron spreading facility, European Spallation Source (ESS) is being built in Sweden. Meanwhile in Denmark, the data centre that will handle all the research data stemming from the ESS officially opened on August 26.
Pivotal data centre opens in Copenhagen

It is a great day for Danish research, says Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science Ulla Tørnæs. The European Spallation Source (ESS) is the first large international research facility near the Danish region.  While the facility itself is established in Lund, Sweden, its data centre - the ESS Data Management and Software Center (DMSC) - opened on Friday August 26 in Denmark in association with the University of Copenhagen. The centre will be tasked with storing, handling and analysing the research data stemming from experiments and assisting researchers with their experiments. DMSC can become the ESS's Danish base for uniquely significant research.

- I am extremely pleased to be the Minister for Higher Education and Research when I see such a fantastic international research centre open in Copenhagen. Both Danish and international researchers and companies will benefit from the new data centre which will create a framework for groundbreaking research in such areas as cancer treatment, materials technology and life sciences, says Minister for Higher Education and Science Ulla Tørnæs.

The ESS will employ approx. 500 people and the DMSC is expected to expand rapidly in the coming years, employing about 65 people by the mid- 2020s at the  Copenhagen Bio Park (COBIS).   A very simplified explanation of the ESS in Lund would be to describe it as an extremely advanced microscope whereby a large number of neutrons are launched at the test material. By registering how the neutrons spread, it is possible to work out which atoms and molecules  can be found in the test material, where they are located and how they interact. This allows the ESS to take very precise structural ”images” of the material – from simple crystals to large proteins.

With the ESS as a leading global facility in the Øresund region, Danish companies and researchers will have unique opportunities. ESS is expected to attract companies and researchers, particularly in the areas of materials technology and life sciences, to the Øresund region, Sweden and Denmark.

International experience shows that large research facilities such as the ESS help create growth and employment in the host region. This includes the large number of knowledge intensive jobs associated with the facility's establishment and operation. But it also encompasses the attracting of advanced technology companies, strengthening  labour market opportunities for highly-educated employees, and improving opportunities for companies' R&D activities. Large international research facilities have the potential to create and develop the host region's knowledge and innovation system.

European Spallation Source - ESS' official website