On June 20 and 22, some of the main European experts in neutron sciences met at the IMoH 2022 congress, 1st International Meeting on Challenges and Opportunities for HICANS. The event, held in the auditorium of the Martina Casiano building, headquarters of BCMaterials, was an international pioneer because of its specific focus on HICANs. These compact neutron sources are intended to facilitate access to neutron experimentation for both scientists and students, complementing the large facilities that already exist in Europe and other continents.
BCMaterials, ESS Bilbao, CFM Donostia and Ineustar (Spanish Association of Science Industries), as reference entities in neutronic sciences and technologies in the Basque Country, were the organizers of the congress, which had participants coming from Germany, the United Kingdom, France , Sweden, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Israel... Among the main speakers, there were representatives of facilities and research centers such as ISIS, ILL, ESS Lund, JCNS...
Neutronics as strategic axis
IMoH2022 not only examined the scientific potential of the HICANS and its translation to the industrial field, with the participation of Spanish and international leading equipment manufacturing companies. The event also addressed the state of the art of neutron sciences, which are a strategic axis in the governments science and technology plans due to their extremely high innovative potential and the many applications they offer in areas such as life sciences, medicine , energy, the environment, telecommunications, etc.
In fact, one of the goals of IMoH2022 was to contribute to projecting the work of the Basque Country in its neutronics development strategy. The Basque institutional representation on the opening day of the congress served to endorse the work that is being carried out in these sciences.
On behalf of the Basque Government, Adolfo Morais, Deputy Minister for Universities and Research, and Estíbaliz Hernáez, Deputy Minister for Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation attended the opening session. So did Inmaculada Arostegui as vice-rector for Research at the UPV/EHU.
