UpAlim, electrical power for research
Le Laboratoire national des champs magnétiques intenses (
LNCMI
CNRS) in Grenoble provides French and European scientists with a range of experimental devices delivering continuous magnetic fields of up to 40 Tesla. These fields are produced by electromagnets that require substantial electrical power.
In 2015, it was decided to launch the UpAlim project to increase the site’s electrical power from 24 to 30 MW, concomitant with an ambitious hybrid magnet project. This large-scale project involved the acquisition and installation of a new high-voltage transformer, combined with the deployment of a connection line.
The team involved in its realization demonstrated its ability to (re)unite and combine skills drawn from a variety of business areas, coordinating teams from LNCMI, the Délégation Régionale Alpes, the Direction de la stratégie financière, de l’immobilier et de la modernisation (DSFIM) and the Direction des affaires juridiques (DAJ).
Now fully operational, the high-voltage transformer enables LNCMI to generate more intense magnetic fields. The new hybrid magnet was thus able to reach the 42 Tesla target, the European record for continuous magnetic fields.