GSI Supervisory Board and Management Board decide on measures for rapid restoration of research operations
18.02.2026 |
Following the fire at GSI on February 5, 2026, the GSI Supervisory Board held an extraordinary meeting on February 13 to assess the situation and discuss and decide on immediate measures. The focus is now on directly necessary repair and maintenance measures, alternative solutions for restoring research operations, the commissioning of FAIR, and bridging options for researchers who are dependent on short-term experimental operation at the accelerator.
With its decisions, the Supervisory Board emphasizes its determination to consistently address the consequences of the fire and to secure the international leading position of the research location in the long term.
The Supervisory Board therefore welcomes the establishment of a joint task force involving the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space, the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Arts and Culture, and the management. This task force is intended to support with optimal coordination and implementation of the above-mentioned measures.
The Supervisory Board also asks the management to quickly develop proposals for the continuation of a suitable scientific program. This includes, in particular, short-term measures to provide beam time for experiments and FAIR commissioning.
Location of the fire and scientific-technical background
The fire broke out at around 6 a.m. on February 5 in the area of the high-voltage power supply for the UNILAC linear accelerator at the GSI facility, presumably due to a short circuit. The particle accelerator was not in operation at the time; technical preparations were underway for an upcoming four-week accelerator operation phase without scientific experiments. Such operating phases are a regular procedure to optimize the accelerator for actual scientific operation.
The accelerator facility following UNILAC, which is located at the beginning of the GSI accelerator structure, was not affected by the fire. However, without the high-voltage power supply to the UNILAC linear accelerator, the further accelerator facility cannot be operated and, consequently, the associated research cannot be conducted.
Thanks to the professional firefighting efforts and the functioning fire protection systems, the fire was confined to the UNILAC building. As a result, many areas on the GSI campus were not affected by the fire and its consequences. This also applies to the SIS18 ring accelerator and the associated experimental facilities, the PHELIX high-power laser, and the Green IT Cube data center. (IP)
