– We have tried to save on everything, introduced a hiring freeze and postponed important investments to the future. But to be able to supply synchrotron light to researchers, we are simply a large electricity customer, says Olof Karis, Acting Director of Max IV.
The nightmare now is the cold and continued energy crisis. This year’s electricity bill for the energy-guzzling research facility alone landed at SEK 80 million, not SEK 30 million as forecast.
Concerns about power outages
Max IV has an annual electricity consumption of 27 gigawatt hours and a predicted kilowatt price of around one kroner. In addition to the difficulties in getting that calculation together, an even worse cloud of worry has risen – the risk of so-called planned power outages later this winter.
– Our biggest concern is that it happens with too little notice. If we don’t get time to do a controlled shutdown, there is a big risk of damage to the equipment, says Olof Karis.
Watch the video about MAX IV’s tough challenges in the shadow of the energy crisis.