ESS will be a huge laboratory with a gigantic "neutron canon" meant for material resource. It will be significantly more powerfull than the smaller "neutron canon" at IFE, the research reactor JEEP II. JEEP II is today the only research neutron source in Northern Europe.

But ESS is not a competitor for JEEP II. ESS and IFE are cooperating regarding instrument development, testing and method development for ESS. JEEP II might be an important resource for ESS in the planning- and construction phase. This will also imply an increase in the number of people connected to the material research at JEEP II, for instance students and visiting researchers.

Norway is partner in the ESS project together with the main sponsor Sweden and other EU countries.

Visiting the JEEP II reactor August 2009, from the left: Arvid Hallén (Norwegian Research Council), President Kjell Bendiksen (IFE), Oluf Huldtgren (the Swedish Embassy), Minister of Research Tora Aasland (Norway), Head of Physics department Arne Skjeltorp (IFE).