Energy Efficiency

Abstract

Particle accelerators are precious tools, not only for high-energy and nuclear physics, but also for many other areas of science, medicine, and security. They do, however, have a substantial energy consumption, which makes it important to design them to make best use of the consumed energy. Maximizing the energy efficiency of an accelerator means minimizing not only the energy consumption and the environmental impact, but also allowing for smaller installations. The concepts and technologies developed to improve the energy efficiency of particle accelerators are not limited to accelerators, but will have a significant impact on energy systems generally. These developments include smart power grids and short-term energy storage devices, better energy conversion efficiencies for subsystems, efficient cryogenic systems, and, ultimately, the recovery of unused energy in more valuable forms than low-temperature heat. Energy recovery linacs are the prime example for good efficiency, since they accelerate, use, and decelerate a continuous beam, using the energy recovered during deceleration for acceleration.