The Management of Cryogens at CERN

CERN is a large user of industrially procured cryogens essentially liquid helium and nitrogen. Recent contracts have been placed by the Organization for the delivery of quantities up to 280 tons of liquid helium over four years and up to 50000 tons of liquid nitrogen over three years. Main users are the very large cryogenic system of the LHC accelerator complex, the physics experiments using superconducting magnets and liquefied gases and all the related test facilities whether industrial or laboratory scale. With the commissioning of LHC, the need of cryogens at CERN will considerably increase and the procurement policy must be adapted accordingly. In this paper, we discuss procurement strategy for liquid helium and nitrogen, including delivery rates, distribution methods and adopted safety standards. Global turnover, on site re-liquefaction capacity, operational consumption, accidental losses, purification means and storage capacity will be described. Finally, the short to medium term evolution of the Organization’s requirements will be reviewed.