Economics of electron beam accelrator facilities: concept vs actual

Electron beam accelerator facilities continue to demonstrate their ability to ''add value'' to a wide range of industrial products. The power, energy, and reliability of commercially available accelerators have increased steadily over the past several decades. The high throughput potential of modern electron beam facilities, together with the broad spectrum of commercial applications, result in the concept that an electron beam facility is an effective tool for adding economic value to industrial products. However, the high capital costs of such a facility (including hidden costs), together with practical limitations to high throughput (including several layers of inefficiencies), result in profit-and-loss economics which are more tenuous than expected after first analysis. (author)