Collaboration agreements and services
  • IDEALEX – BAGE@NFS
  • STIRWELD
  • NORMANDIE ACCELERATEURS

NORMANDIE ACCELERATEURS

ATRON METROLOGY, the CEA, CIMAP, the CNRS, CORRODYS, GANIL, LPC Caen, Normandie AeroEspace, Normandie Incubation, Nuclétudes, Scienteama, TRAD Tests & Radiations and the University of Caen Normandy are working in close collaboration as part of the Normandie Accélérateurs project – a project co-funded by the Normandy Region and the European Union.

Normandie Accélérateurs aims to establish a technology platform bringing together Normandy’s accelerators around innovative technological developments to offer a wide range of beams (from X-rays to heavy ions) for radiation testing. It is primarily aimed at the space, defence and nuclear industries.

Engineers specialising in radiation testing use various particles (ions, neutrons, electrons, etc.) to simulate the different types of radiation present in space that may affect restricted systems in the space, nuclear or Defence sectors. In Normandy, the Grand Accélérateur National d’Ions Lourds (GANIL) is facing a sharp increase in demand for these radiation tests, linked to the growing satellite market and the need to test the components that will be integrated. However, at present, GANIL, due to its role as a national infrastructure serving fundamental research, is unable to meet all of these demands.

The Normandie Accélérateurs platform will initially offer a significant increase in the number of beam hours dedicated to radiation testing. It will also provide a wide range of particle beams: heavy ions and neutrons from GANIL, and electrons and X-rays from ATRON METROLOGY (CERAP Group) in Cherbourg. These radiation sources will be used to simulate, as realistically as possible, the various types of radiation encountered in space that could affect the electronic systems of spacecraft.

For GANIL, this presents an opportunity:

  • to improve the facilities for the line dedicated to industrial irradiation, which offers industry very high-energy heavy-ion beams that are unique in Europe,
  • to increase the capacity for medium-energy heavy-ion irradiation with the support of the CIMAP laboratory,
  • to create a new multi-beam station for high-energy heavy ions and a neutron irradiation station. 

Co-funded by the European Union and the Normandy Region, this project is also jointly led by the NAE association (Saint-Etienne du Rouvray) and the G.I.E GANIL (Caen), whose members are the CEA and the CNRS, in collaboration with:

  • The CEA (Paris region), the CIMAP laboratory (Caen), the LPC laboratory (Caen) (UNICAEN), the Normandie Incubation association (Caen);
  • The industrial partners ATRON METROLOGY (Cherbourg), NUCLETUDES (Paris region), SCIENTEAMA (Caen), TRAD Tests & Radiations (Occitanie region);
  • The CORRODYS Technical Centre (Cherbourg).

This partnership, unique in France and Europe, is supported and scientifically guided by CNES, with a budget of nearly €10 million, of which €4.27 million is funded by the Normandy Region and the fonds européens en Région (FEDER), and €5.47 million by the partners’ own resources (human resources and investments)   

ATRON : https://www.atron.fr/fr/
CEA : https://www.cea.fr/  
CIMAP : https://cimap.ensicaen.fr/
CNRS : https://www.cnrs.fr/fr
Corrodys : https://corrodys.com/  
GANIL : https://www.ganil-spiral2.eu/fr/
LPCC : https://www.lpc-caen.in2p3.fr/
NAE : https://www.nae.fr/  
Normandie Incubation : https://www.normandie-incubation.com/
Nuclétudes : https://nucletudes.ariane.group/
Scienteama : https://www.scienteama.com/  
TRAD : https://www.trad.fr/  
UNICAEN : https://www.unicaen.fr/