The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is currently being built in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The observatory’s goal is to study dark matter, Earth-like planets and extraterrestrial life forms. ebm‑papst is supplying 28 FanGrids with 168 RadiPac EC fans for this project. They will be used in the AHUs for the laser systems. Through its participation in this project, ebm‑papst is underscoring its position as a technology pioneer and reliable partner for the most demanding applications.

Up to eight guiding star laser systems will be used to ensure that the ELT can take precise images of space. To safeguard their operation, these systems must be supplied around the clock with pure and perfectly temperature-controlled air. OCRAM CLIMA was commissioned to design these highly specialized AHUs and turned to ebm‑papst Portugal in search of a highly reliable and efficient solution.

The conditions of the Cerro Armazones mountain and the telescope itself placed very complex demands on the fan solution. They include the location at an altitude of around 3,000 meters in a region that is subject to frequent earthquakes, fine desert sand and dust, and variable weather conditions. Since the ELT itself is packed with highly sensitive technology, the fan systems must not cause any electronic interference.

ebm‑papst developed a tailored plug & play solution that integrates all components and minimizes OCRAM’s installation and validation effort. It proposed the use of FanGrids, with six individual EC fans stacked and assembled on top of each other. These redundancies ensure the systems’ greater operational reliability, efficiency and service life.

In May 2024, the first units were shipped to Chile and assembled by the OCRAM team. On-site measurements are now being performed to validate the plug & play solution. The successful collaboration between OCRAM and ebm‑papst shows that we were working at the cutting edge of technology in this project.