China Plans to Build $5-Billion World's Biggest Particle Collider in 2027, Aiming to Outpace Europe

China aims to construct a $5-billion particle collider, the Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC), to study the Higgs boson in unprecedented detail. The project is expected to start in 2027 and be completed in about a decade, with significant international collaboration anticipated.

China is moving forward with plans to build the Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC), a $5-billion project designed to study the Higgs boson particle in unprecedented detail. This ambitious initiative, which will compete with Europe's proposed Future Circular Collider (FCC), aims to provide critical insights into fundamental questions about the universe.

The proposal for the CEPC will be reviewed by the Chinese government next year for possible inclusion in its next five-year plan. If approved, construction could begin in 2027, with completion expected in the late 2030s. The project’s comprehensive technical-design report, published on June 3, outlines a 100-kilometer underground tunnel where electrons and positrons will collide at high energies, generating millions of Higgs bosons for detailed study.

The CEPC is estimated to cost 36.4 billion yuan (US$5.2 billion), significantly less than the FCC’s projected $17 billion cost. The collider aims to advance beyond the Standard Model of particle physics, exploring mysteries such as dark matter and the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe.

Physicist Wang Yifang, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of High Energy Physics in Beijing, expressed confidence in the project’s feasibility, noting that many components are already being tested at other facilities in China. The country’s existing expertise, bolstered by the Beijing Electron Positron Collider, positions it well to undertake this large-scale project.

International collaboration is expected to be crucial for the CEPC, particularly in developing the collider’s detectors. While geopolitical tensions may pose challenges for securing international funding, China has a track record of successful international cooperation in large physics projects, such as the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory.

Despite these challenges, Wang remains optimistic about international involvement in the CEPC. Currently, international researchers constitute a significant portion of teams working on major physics facilities in China. An engineering-design report is also underway to provide further construction details and ensure project readiness.