Environment Ministry of Hesse hands over final construction permit for particle accelerator FAIR

In addition to the general construction permit for the new particle accelerator facility FAIR, since 2011 the detailed construction plans for the individual buildings have been examined and approved by the authorities in the federal state of Hesse.

With the final partial construction permit – for the building for the proton linear accelerator (p-LINAC) – in terms of safety regulations the fundamental step has been taken for the corresponding updating of the construction plans and the commencement of the construction of the basic structure as planned in 2015.

The first partial construction approval was granted two years ago. Since then all the buildings and tunnel sections have been examined, for example the 1,100 meter ring accelerator, the experimental station for biophysics and material research, and the facility for the creation of new isotopes, the Super Fragment Separator.

The radiation protection department of GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, which has been monitoring the safety of the GSI facility for more than 40 years already, is overseeing the approvals procedures on behalf of FAIR GmbH.

The particle accelerator facility FAIR, which is some 4,000 meters long and for the most part located underground, is being built on an area of 20 hectares. It will utilize the existing 400-meter-long GSI facility as a pre-accelerator.

3,000 scientists from more than 50 countries will conduct research at FAIR into the basic building blocks of matter and the development of the universe. To this end it is possible to produce particularly intensive precision beams of antiprotons and ions of all chemical elements at FAIR.