The responsible partners within the RF2.0 project, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and DESY, have set a plan to address the energy efficiency and sustainability at large Research Infrastructures (RIs).
Early in 2024, a survey was created and initially answered by the project partners together with some external research institutions. As main outcomes, key performance technologies with energy-saving potential were defined. Moreover, a set of six high level environmental sustainability metrics introducing the ‘per reference’ concept in indicators’ definition were also developed.
Results of the survey were shared by Falastine Abusaif (KIT) during the Energy for Sustainable Science at RIs (ESSRI) workshop in Madrid last September, in her presentation “Key Technologies for Energy Efficient and Sustainable Accelerators: A Survey from Shareholders”. During the ESSRI workshop, scientists from international research areas from Europe, America, and Asia gathered to identify the challenges faced in developing and implementing sustainable solutions at RIs, and shared experiences on new energy-efficient technologies.
As consortium, we are convinced that the scientific outcomes yielded in the RF2.0 should be transferred to external research institutions and to all other users in the community.
Therefore, we decided to adapt a follow-up procedure that entitles widening the survey to include as many international research institutions as possible. This facilitates both the standardization of the concepts within all developed outcomes and reaching the scientific expertise and knowledge from multiple international sides.
The main goals that we are aiming at are:
- Developing generalized sustainability metrics or key performance indicators for quantifying sustainability in RIs, these metrics will serve as standard references that users can rely on during planning, development, and utilization phases for technological advancements and solutions. Users in both private and public sectors can benefit from these developed metrics.
- Assessment on key technologies with high energy-saving potential in RIs.
Are you interested in sustainable developments or energy-saving technologies?
Take this opportunity and participate in our online survey:
Feel free to forward the survey link to any potential participants and experts in the field who could add a value to our assessment.
Your contribution will help rising sustainability awareness and developing it for research institutions as well as defining key solutions and technologies that benefit the environment and society. Results from our assessment will be published on our website and will be made publicly available.