The European energy crisis is threatening to affect the world’s largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the head of the European nuclear research center (CERN) energy management panel, Serge Claudet, has admitted.
The agency is now working on contingency plans that could even see the LHC shut down to reduce energy consumption at peak times, he told the Wall Street Journal on Sunday.
“Our concern is really grid stability, because we do all we can to prevent a blackout in our region,” Claudet said. However, the scientists will seek to keep the LHC operating and try to avoid a sudden shutdown of the $4.4-billion machine, he added.
The LHC is one of eight particle accelerators located at CERN’s sprawling complex on the border between France and Switzerland. It is also one of France’s largest energy consumers, requiring some 200 megawatts of power during its peak operation periods. The entire nearby city of Geneva consumes only around three times that amount.
CERN is hoping to reach an agreement with its energy supplier – the French state power giant EDF SA – and wants at least a day’s notice in the event that it has to reduce its energy consumption.