FAIR Accelerator Center to Be Built in Darmstadt

German Ministry of Research promotes series production of key components / Braun: “We are strengthening Germany’s role in the field of science worldwide”

The FAIR international accelerator center in Darmstadt is one of the largest projects for basic research in physics worldwide. A key phase of the project commenced today when Dr. Helge Braun, the Parliamentary State Secretary of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research, presented GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH with the approval for €50.2 million in project funding. As a result, orders can now be placed for the series production of key components for the FAIR accelerators and experiments.

“I’m very delighted to give the official green light today for the construction of the key parts of the accelerators and experimentation systems of this unique accelerator center. We are investing in this advanced technology in order to strengthen Germany’s role in the field of science worldwide,” said Braun. The FAIR project has a total budget of about €1 billion. Germany is the main contributor, providing about €705 million in funding. In October 2010, nine countries (Germany, Finland, France, India, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden, and Slovenia) signed the agreement for the construction and operation of the FAIR center.

“The many years of development work have really paid off. The funds approved today will allow us to begin series production of the magnets for the central ring accelerator of FAIR’s SIS100 project as well as other components for our research programs,” said GSI Scientific Director Horst Stöcker. Many of the components for the FAIR accelerators are based on new technological concepts and have to meet the highest technical standards.

When it is completed, FAIR will consist of eight ring accelerators up to 1,100 meters in circumference, two linear accelerators, and around 3.5 kilometers of beam pipes. The existing GSI accelerators will serve as pre-accelerators for the new facility.

FAIR will make it possible to conduct a wider range of experiments than ever before, enabling scientists from all over the world to gain new insights into the structure of matter and the evolution of the universe since the Big Bang. Roughly 3,000 scientists from more than 40 countries are already working on the plans for the accelerator and experimentation facilities.

GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH
Planckstr. 1
64291 Darmstadt
Germany
Public Relations
Contact: Dr. Ingo Peter
Fon: +49-6159-71-2598
Fax: +49-6159-71-2991
Email: presse@gsi.de