European project celebrates its first General Assembly for the implementation of a particle accelerator in Granada
The DONES Preparatory Phase, with a €4 million budget from the EuropeanCommission, will address financial, legal and organisational aspectsfor the construction of the IFMIF-DONES infrastructure in Escuzar
The DONES Preparatory Phase (DONES-PreP), with a total budget of €4 million from the European Commission, celebrated last 10th of October its kick-off meeting and first General Assembly at CIEMAT headquarters.
This meeting was considered the official beginning of DONES-PreP and allpreparatory actions, which will address legal and financial aspectsfrom a mature technological perspective. The particle accelerator, tobe constructed in Escuzar (province of Granada, Spain), will studyand evaluate the materials for a fusion reactor facility (DemoOriented Neutron Source – DONES).
The aim of this meeting was to gather the entities and staff involved inthe project, as well as observers and interestedparties related to DONES-PreP to establish management aspects andreview the initial actions. Representatives from CIEMAT, Universityof Granada and OnGranada Tech City attended this first General Assembly, as well as representatives from 13 other entities fromSpain, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Germany,Croatia, Belgium and Hungary, who are also involved in DONES-PreP.
The General Assembly began with a general overview of the project byCIEMAT, leader of the project, followed by technical meetings of eachwork package. All work package leaders and staff involved outlinedtheir tasks, with special emphasis on the milestones for the firstyear of the project.The work package leaders also met on October 11that the Management Team meeting, where a summary of the discussionsand conclusions reached at the General Assembly were presented.
DONES-PrePis conceived as the preparatory phase for IFMIF-DONES. It willaddress financial, legal and organisational aspects in theconstruction and operational phases of the infrastructure related toits international character. The project will seek the establishmentof a consortium among the participants and interested parties and thepromotion of the involvement of governments, research councils, andfunding agencies. Short- and long- term budgetary estimations arealso expected, along with the evaluation of technical alternatives,the possible impact of the facility in terms of social and economic benefits, and the preparation of legal agreements.
