CERN is the world leader of the exploration of particle physics, thanks to its 27-kilometer atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider.
Now, the Swiss-based research facility has officially completed the feasability study for the collider’s successor, known as the Future Circular Collider.
The study suggests building a 91-kilometer collider capable of producing collisions with energies of around 100 teraelectronvolts, which would open new doors in the exploration of particle physics.
In the suburbs of Geneva, the future of humanity’s unending journey into the world of particle physics is being planned. The Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (translation: European Organization for Nuclear Research), more commonly known as CERN, is at the forefront of that research. With its 27-kilometer atom smasher—the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)—the Swiss-based research facility has been leading particle physics research since 2008, with its most star-studded moment being the discovery of the Higgs Boson in 2012.
The LHC is the world’s most powerful accelerator. But while it still has some life left in its superconducting bones, CERN is actively contemplating its successor, known as the Future Circular Collider (FCC)—and it’s definitely set to be a worthy heir.
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As of this week, CERN and its international partners have officially completed the project’s feasibility study, and have discerned that the FCC will cost roughly $16 billion. Now for some good news, bad news. The report says that the FCC—which will stretch a staggering 91-kilometers and be capable of reaching energy levels seven times higher than the LHC—could begin its first phase of operation as early as 2040s. This phase will explore known physics originally pioneered by the LHC, and will be an “electron–positron collider serving as a Higgs, electroweak and top-quark factory running at different center-of-mass energies,” according to CERN.
The bad news is that it’ll be at least half a century before the FCC transitions into a proton-proton collider capable of 100-teraelectronvolt (TeV) collision energies. Previously, CERN has said that a 100 TeV collider “will push to a more fundamental understanding of the laws of nature and our understanding of how the Universe evolved after the Big Bang.” In other words, the really mind-blowing stuff.
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However, the FCC Feasibility Study does more than just lay out a science timeline. It’s real purpose is to assess the project’s cost—including all of the geology, civil engineering, environmental impacts, and many more construction details associated with the project. The team behind the study also had to figure out the optimal placement of the experiment, and developed more than 100 scenarios to land on the right one. The team settled on a 90.7-kilometer (56 mile) ring located at an average depth of 200 meters (656 feet), with eight surface sites and four experiments.
The FCC will be a largely European-led project—though, the previous U.S. administration pledged support for the FCC if it’s eventually approved, according to the Associated Press. With the current Trump administration actively cutting research funding in the U.S., it’s unlikely that support will remain (at least, for now). Thankfully, Europe appears ready to forge ahead without the U.S., and the CERN Council will meet in November of 2025 to discuss the details of the feasibility study.
In 2028, CERN members will finally decide whether to move ahead with the plan.
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Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.