The Future Circular Collider in brief

Exploring concepts and technologies for the next generation of powerful particle colliders

A 91-kilometre ring-shaped underground tunnel located beneath France and Switzerland

An average depth of 200 m and eight surface sites for up to four experiments. 

Start of operations foreseen in the mid-2040s, and a research programme spanning more than 70 years, until the end of the 21st century

Two phases: an electron-positron collider (FCC-ee) that would provide unprecedented precision measurements and potentially point the way to physics beyond the Standard Model and a proton-proton collider (FCC-hh) reaching energies up to eight times those of the LHC and offering new discovery potential

More than 150 institutes in over 30 countries form the global FCC collaboration, while new partners are still being sought to work on research and development

15 billion CHF for the construction of FCC-ee and it’s four experiments, spread over 15 years 

What is the tentative timeline?

Paving the way for fundamental research in particle physics until the end of the 21st century

●    2025: Completion of the FCC feasibility study 
●    Around 2027-2028: Decision by the CERN Member States and international partners
●    2030s: Start of Construction
●    mid-2040s: FCC-ee begins operations and runs for approximately 15 years
●    2070s: FCC-hh begins operations and runs for approximately 25 years 

For context, for the LHC, the physics case was made in 1984, it then took some 10 years to be approved and 25 years for the magnets to be developed and installed. Colliders are once-in-a-generation efforts. 

A commitment to sustainable research

Probing ways to minimise and compensate the impact

Civil engineering: the “Mining the Future” competition identified credible and innovative ways to reuse part of the excavated material. The next step is the implementation of a pilot “Open Sky Laboratory” permitting the demonstration of these techniques

Power: Thanks to the ongoing R&D efforts the FCC-ee power consumption is expected to be 30%-40% lower compared to the power consumption if current technologies were used. The FCC study team is also working with regional authorities to identify ways in which part of this energy may be re-used for heating in local industries and public infrastructures. 

Water: A thorough re-assessment revealed that the maximum water requirement during the operation of FCC-ee at the top threshold (350 GeV) can be lowered to below 3 million m³ per year, which approximately corresponds to the current water use for the LHC. 

Territorial anchoring of the project

Building on 70 years of presence in the local area

A thoroughly thought-out configuration: identified out of some 100 variants, the selected placement of the FCC tunnel reduced the surface needs from initially 110 ha to about 40 ha net, i.e. a reduction by more than 60%. 

Return on investment, for the local area, and for the world: beyond the creation of new knowledge, studies show that the FCC would deliver benefits that outweigh its cost. The benefit/cost ratio is estimated to be 1.66. The FCC project is linked to the creation of around 800 000 person-years of jobs, according to the mid-term review, and the FCC-ee scientific programme is estimated to generate an overall local economic impact of more than €4 billion. More information here. 

Engaging in dialogue with the local communities: CERN has already invited the general public for a public meeting on the 24 April, and this first event will be followed by similar public meetings in the local area.