HADES, Underground laboratory for ultra-low level gamma-ray spectrometry (EUFRAT)

JRC operates a laboratory for ultralow-level radioactivity measurements inside the 225 m deep underground laboratory HADES, which is located at the premises of the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre. In HADES, the muon flux (secondary cosmic rays) is a factor of 5000 lower compared to above ground and the flux of protons, neutrons and electrons is reduced to an insignificant level. This reduction of the cosmic ray flux makes the background in gamma-ray spectrometry measurements significantly lower compared to above ground. Therefore, it is possible to detect very low amounts of radioactivity (sub mBq range). Eleven specially designed high purity germanium detectors are used for the measurements. There is also a scanning station by which the homogeneity of dead layers in HPGe-detectors can be studied..

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Priority topics of HADES

Ultra low-level gamma-ray spectrometry for:

1. Ultra low-level gamma-ray spectrometry for:
2. Characterisation of reference materials for their radioactive content: e.g. materials used for environmental monitoring, food control, radioactive waste management, earth sciences, archaeology, biology, dating, electronics, radioecology...
3. Tracing processes in nature like ocean currents (input to climate change modelling) and uptake in the food chain.
4. Tracing anthropogenic activities from nuclear activities.
5. Radioecological studies.
6. Support to European NORM industry.
7. Quality control (checking blanks and low-level samples).
8. Basic physics experiments in astrophysics and neutrino physics (e.g. search for neutrinoless double beta decay and other rare processes).
9. Material selection and detector testing for underground experiments.
10. Study and measurements of rare nuclear decays.
11. Testing of detectors and methods for low-level applications.
12. Materials selection for radio pure detectors.
13. Storage and testing of radio pure components.
14. Characterization of HPGe-detectors for dead layer homogeneity.

Definition and conditions of access

Access to the research infrastructure is granted based on Access Units (AU). For HADES, the AU corresponds to a 'Measurement week' on one of the instruments in HADES, made available to perform the necessary measurements to fulfil the objectives of the project.

All users will be requested to complete and deliver safety and security-related documents to get access to the nuclear facilities at HADES. Approval of access is subject to the rules of the European Commission, the Joint Research Centre and the Belgian authorities. Submission of documents should therefore, be started in time to allow completion of the approval procedure well before the start of the experiment.

• Estimated total number of Access Units allocated to the call: 150 AU
• Average number of Access Units per Project: 50 AU
• Estimated maximum duration of the User Access Project: 48 months
• Estimated costs excluding consumables and expenses:
  • Research infrastructure operated by JRC staff: 0 €/AU
  • Research infrastructure operated by users: Not possible

Allocation of intellectual property rights

The JRC and the entitled party (person or organisation that has been granted access) become co-owners in equal shares of all raw data, treated data and documentation data developed with respect to the access.

Eligibility criteria

• The Lead User Institution and User Institutions (see definitions in the Framework) must be established in an EU Member State, or country associated to the Euratom research programme (at the time of publishing this call, the only country associated to the Euratom research programme is Ukraine and Switzerland*).
• The scope of the work for nuclear RIs must be in line with the activities defined in Annex I of Council Regulation (Euratom) 2021/765.
• The Lead User Institution must be from a university, research or public institution, or from a Small-Medium-Enterprise (SME).
• User Institutions belonging to international organisations provided that the JRC has concluded a Collaboration instrument that ensures reciprocity for Access of Users from the JRC and User Institutions to their respective Research Infrastructures. The JRC Director General may exceptionally authorise the participation of User Institutions belonging to international organisations in the absence of a Collaboration instrument.
• User Institutions established in a EU Member State or in a country associated to the Euratom programme must not be directly or indirectly controlled by non-associated third countries, or by legal entities of non-associated third countries. The JRC Director General may exceptionally authorise the participation of User Institutions controlled directly or indirectly by non-associated third countries, or by legal entities of non-associated third countries.
• Individual Users must be nationals of a EU Member State or a country associated to the Euratom programme. The JRC Director General may exceptionally authorise the participation of Users that are not nationals of EU Member States, or of a country associated to the Euratom programmes, for overriding justified reasons.
• Ethical considerations in accordance with EU Law, in particular Art. 18 and Art. 19 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, and applicable laws and regulations in the EU Member States.
• The proposal submission form is complete and complies with the instructions.

* Swiss institutions can apply as from now. However, the actual participation in the activities will be subject to the conclusion of the agreement between the EU/Euratom and Switzerland on Union Programmes, currently in the process of formal adoption.

Selection criteria

Proposals will be evaluated in accordance to the following selection criteria:

• Scientific implementation (50 points)
• Collaboration, training and access of new User Institution (20 points)
• Strategic relevance (30 points)

How to apply

The proposal must be prepared using the Relevance-driven Proposal Submission Form.

If the proposal includes a request to prepare a target at JRC, the Lead User must also fill in the EUFRAT Target preparation request and follow the instructions at the end of the form when submitting the proposal.

For HADES the Lead User must also fill in the EUFRAT (HADES) facility specifications form following the instructions at the end of the form when submitting the proposal.

During preparation of the proposal, applicants are encouraged to:

• Read the "Framework for Access to the Physical Research Infrastructures of the JRC" and all related documents in the Framework for Access page.
• Contact the research infrastructure at JRC-OPEN-EUFRATec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-OPEN-EUFRAT[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) to assess feasibility aspects related to the capacity of the research infrastructure.

The proposal should be submitted to JRC-RI-OPEN-ACCESSec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-RI-OPEN-ACCESS[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) by the closing date of the call.

The User Selection Committee will only evaluate proposals that are complete and comply with the instructions in the proposal submission form.