Gamma-Factory-driven energy source — exploratory studies

How to mitigate the impact of the surge in electricity cost, its volatility, and limited supply in the present and future high-energy accelerator-based research? The possible solution,  advocated and discussed in this talk,  is to produce, in situ, rather than to purchase,  the requisite plug power. The idea is to use a subcritical nuclear reactor,  driven by the specially designed ``Gamma Factory” photon beam. Gamma Factory is a new project, which could use the existing CERN accelerator infrastructure. If realized, it could provide a leap —  in the intensity of the MeV range photon beam — by more than 7 orders of magnitude, with respect to all the present sources of gamma rays. The accelerator and the laser system requirements will be presented to deliver the requisite,  MW-class photon beam. The  merits of the photon-beam scheme of the accelerator-driven system (ADS)  with respect

to those of the proton-beam-driven scheme will be discussed.