The HL-LHC Collaboration Office continues to update existing collaboration agreements and put in place new agreements with HL-LHC partners.

Since the previous HL-LHC Collaboration Board Newsletter, the Collaboration Office has focused on the signing of the UK Phase 1 agreements, allowing for final invoicing to take place. The main deliverable expected for the UK Phase 1 is the prototype crab cavity cryomodule. It was received at CERN in October 2023, revealing two non-conformities during reception testing that will require repairs before the module can be installed in the SPS tunnel. The repair cost will be shared equally between CERN and the UK and will require an amendment to the existing collaboration contract. Several lessons were learnt and will be used for series production.

In terms of new agreements, the Collaboration Office recently received two signed agreements from KEK, Japan. The first one is for the quench heater power supplies, where a first batch of four pre-series modules is soon expected at CERN for final validation before series production is launched. The second agreement is for a cash contribution from KEK to CERN allowing the HL-LHC project to procure the High-Power RF and distribution equipment required for the crab cavities.

The present HL-LHC Collaboration Officer, Lars Jensen, has decided to step down from this summer. We would like to thank Lars for his valuable contribution to the project and welcome Emmanuel Tsesmelis who will take over the role of Collaboration Officer.