The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) wants to build a new supercollider. The cost of the project could be up to 20 billion euros, reports The Register.

This is a system called the Future Ring Collider (FCC). It is proposed to be three times larger and several times more powerful than the existing particle accelerator in Switzerland.

The circumference of the supercollider can reach 90 km compared to 27 km for the Large Hadron Collider. But the collision energy can reach 100 teraelectron volts (TeV), compared to 14 TeV in the current collider.

CERN суперколайдер

In a report to the CERN board, consisting of representatives from 23 member countries, experts described the FCC proposal. Scientists who support the ambitious project want to start construction as soon as possible so that the collider can be ready in the 2040s.

“The FCC will not only be a wonderful instrument to improve our understanding of fundamental laws of physics and of nature,” CERN director general Fabiola Gianotti. “It will also be a driver of innovation.”

However, not everyone is optimistic about the project. Some experts believe that €20 billion does not reflect the value for money.

In their opinion, the money could be spent more wisely on research to fight disease or climate change. Some scientists even call the project “reckless.” There is also an opinion that the FCC is risky and may not lead to new breakthroughs.

Earlier it was reported that scientists have managed to launch the world’s smallest particle accelerator. Scientists from the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) in Germany have achieved success.