CERN’s groundbreaking energy projects prove that cutting-edge science and everyday sustainability can work together.
The newly commissioned heat exchange system is now capturing waste heat from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and sending it back to warm homes and businesses in the nearby French town of Ferny-Voltaire.
Excess heat that was once released into the atmosphere is now a low-carbon resource that supports growing local heating networks.
Description of the Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, located underground near Geneva on the French-Swiss border.
It propels subatomic particles to speeds close to the speed of light before colliding them, allowing scientists to study the fundamental building blocks of the universe.
The LHC has contributed to major discoveries such as the Higgs boson and plays a central role in advancing our understanding of physics.
Their scale and enormous energy demands also make them uniquely suited for innovative energy recovery projects like this heat exchange system.
Converting scientific waste heat into local energy
Since mid-January, the thermal energy recovered from the LHC’s cooling infrastructure has been fed into a district heating network serving new residential and commercial developments in Fernet-Voltaire.
The network, which was officially launched in December, is expected to provide heating for thousands of homes. The project aims to prevent the release of thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide each year by relying on recovered heat instead of gas and other fossil fuels.
At the heart of this effort is an advanced heat exchange system that recovers hot water produced during cooling of sensitive accelerator equipment.
CERN now transfers this heat directly to the town’s heating infrastructure, rather than wasting it through cooling towers, turning the byproduct of its research into a valuable energy source.
How the heat exchange system works
The Large Hadron Collider spans 27 kilometers and includes eight major surface points.
One of them, known as Point 8, is located near Fernet-Voltaire and is equipped with water cooling equipment, including a cryogenic system. As the cooling water circulates through this device, it absorbs heat and is discharged at a higher temperature.
In the new configuration, this hot water flows through two industrial-scale heat exchangers, each rated at 5 MW. These heat exchangers transfer thermal energy to the municipal heating network without interfering with CERN’s scientific activities.
Currently, the town consumes up to 5 MW of heat, but the system has the potential to double that output at full throttle.
Energy supply during maintenance
Even if the LHC ceases operations, the heat exchange system remains valuable. Starting in the summer of 2026, CERN will enter Long Shutdown 3, a multi-year maintenance and upgrade phase for the high-luminosity LHC.
During this time, some Point 8 facilities will continue to require cooling, so 1-5 MW of heat will be delivered to the network for most of the shutdown, with the exception of a limited five-month interruption.
This continuity ensures the resilience of the heating network while maintaining flexibility regarding CERN’s core research mission.
Part of a broader sustainability strategy
The Ferny-Voltaire project is just one element of CERN’s broader commitment to responsible energy management.
Energy recovery runs alongside increasing efficiency and reducing consumption in the ISO 50001 certified company’s strategy.
Other initiatives include heat recovery at the Prevesan Data Center, which is expected to supply most on-site buildings from winter 2026/2027, and future plans to reuse heat from the cooling tower at LHC Point 1.
Together, these projects are expected to save 25 to 30 gigawatt hours of energy per year by 2027 and demonstrate how well-designed heat exchange systems can bridge the gap between world-class science and real-world climate action.
Source link
