Government Contract Signed for Equipment Manufacturing for SRF SKIF

Boreskov Institute of Catalysis (BIC) and Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (BINP) have signed the government contract for manufacturing the technology-intensive equipment for the shared research facility SKIF (Siberian Circular Photon Source). It is planned to demonstrate the first beam of the charged particles with the projects parameters in the end of 2021.

“We signed the first contract to begin the production of the acceleration equipment for the SRF SKIF. As of today, no synchrotron with such characteristics of the beam exists in the world. It should start operating in four years”, — told Academician Pavel Logachev, Director of BINP, during the press-conference. He also added that although a major part of the equipment is to be produced by BINP’s own resources, the process would be joined by the regional plants including AO “Berdskiy elektromekhanicheskiy zavod” (AO “BEMZ”), Chkalov Novosibirsk Aircraft Plant, etc.

According to Academician Valerii Bukhtiyarov, Director of BIC, it is planned to invest 12.5 bln rubles in total for the manufacturing of the acceleration complex. “The first contract is signed for 3.62 bln rubles. The first advance payment of 774 mln rubles will be paid to BINP this year”, — he said.

The work on bringing the money to the equipment manufacturer took almost a year. As a result, BINP received the status of exclusive provider for producing and launching of the technology-intensive equipment for the SRF SKIF, and the authority of governmental customer was given to BIC, which allowed the institutes to sign the contract directly.

Evgeni Levichev, the head of the Project Office of SRF SKIF, said that the first beam with the project parameters is planned to be demonstrated in the end of the next year. “The borderline is crossed: at last the contract is signed, and in the nearest future BINP will get financing for the production of equipment of the acceleration complex. Now there are 52 assignments in the pilot production of the Institute. We have conducted great work preceding the manufacturing of various systems of the accelerator complex, first of all, the linear accelerator (linac) and booster synchrotron. These are supposed to be made first. By the end of 2021 we plan to demonstrate the first part of the linac and obtain the beam with the necessary parameters”, — noted Levichev.

The head of the Project Office underlined that the project will be joined by the enterprises of Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk region, and Russia. This would help to develop the necessary skills for the further work in the field of accelerator technologies. “We hope that after SRF SKIF other mega-science accelerator projects would be realized, not only the synchrotron ones, and the experience we are gaining together would come in handy in future more than once”, — he said.