China's High Energy Photon Source (HEPS) project moved one step closer to reality with approval of the HEPS Feasibility Study Report by the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning body, on Dec. 28, 2018.

HEPS will be one of the core facilities of Huairou Science City, located in Beijing's suburban Huairou District. It will have a beam energy of 6 GeV and an ultra-low emittance ring-based synchrotron radiation light source, allowing China to join an elite global group of high energy synchrotron radiation light sources. It will offer strong support for research fields related to domestic needs and lead to revolutionary innovation in various industries.

Construction is expected to begin in 2019 and take 6.5 years. During Phase I, 14 beamlines, the accelerator and some other auxiliary buildings will be built. The project was originally proposed in 2008 and listed as one of China’s large research infrastructure projects in the country’s 13th Five-year Plan in 2016.

Synchrotron radiation facilities are indispensable in numerous frontier research areas. The High Energy Photon Source (HEPS) is a kilometer-scale, 6 GeV, ultralow- emittance storage-ring-based light source, planned to be built in Beijing. (Image by IHEP)