Hungary for ESS

Hungary for ESS

• Neutron science in Hungary
  
• The Hungarian site
  
• Economic conditions, socio-economic impact
  

There are several reasons supporting the idea of bringing the ESS to Hungary: among others, the international recognition of Hungarian neutron research, or the fact that the idea of the ESS is predominantly based on a concept invented by a Hungarian researcher (Professor Ferenc Mezei). The Budapest Neutron Center is one of the seven most important scientific centers registered with an EU international user’s status. The economic conditions of the project’s implementation are the most favorable in Hungary. Moreover, being a university center and having an international airport as well, Debrecen provides outstanding possibilities regarding not only training and education, but also science and culture. 

The realization of the ESS - a common project for the whole European condensed matter community, as defined in the ESFRI 2006 roadmap, based on the reference design established in 2003 by over 100 top scientists in a > 50 M€ ESS R&D phase - is a most important milestone in the construction of the European Research Arena. In order to turn this reference design into an optimal final design and to see through its construction will again be the task of a large team of top experts from all over Europe to be recruited to join the ESS endeavor, at whichever site the ESS will materialize. Debrecen, the second largest city of Hungary and the cultural and economic centre of the Eastern part of the country offers outstanding conditions in general and some unique advantages in particular for both the ESS project and its collaborators and also for the regional development goals of the European Union.
With about 400,000 inhabitants in the agglomeration (about the size of Grenoble), Debrecen offers at the same time the educational, cultural, recreational, industrial and economic opportunities of major urban centers and the ease of moving around the whole city within 10 or 20 minutes by the well-developed public transport system, by car or even by bicycle. These conditions provide for a high quality of life for families of all backgrounds, including an easily accessible day-care system and local schools to provide internationally accredited education for children of all ages in a good variety of the major languages (by now English, French, German, Italian and Spanish).  Debrecen is easily accessible by train, road or motorway.  It is well connected to the busy international airport of Budapest by a recently completed seamless motorway connection (90 min. travel time) and direct trains (2 hours). It also has a  Schengen-certified international airport with plans to start scheduled flights to major European hubs.