UKRI manages the funding and community and stakeholder engagement for several international research facilities.<\/p>\n
Through these international collaborations, the UK research community benefits from:<\/p>\n
UK subscriptions to international collaborations are calculated annually and support the construction and operation of the facilities.<\/p>\n
Located on the French-Swiss border, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, CERN, is the world\u2019s pre-eminent particle physics research facility.<\/p>\n
It houses purpose-built particle accelerators, detectors, and computing infrastructure of unprecedented scale that enable researchers to study the basic constituents of matter and advance our understanding of the universe.<\/p>\n
The UK was one of the 12 founding members of CERN in 1954, and plays a prominent role in many aspects at CERN.<\/p>\n
This includes leadership roles in some of the most prestigious international science projects as well as two Directors General over the course of our membership.<\/p>\n
Find out more about CERN<\/a>.<\/p>\n EMBL is one of the world\u2019s leading research institutions, and Europe\u2019s flagship laboratory for the life sciences.<\/p>\n Established in 1974, EMBL is a non-profit organisation that focuses on the fundamental understanding of basic biological processes in model organisms.<\/p>\n Find out more about European Molecular Biology Laboratory<\/a>.<\/p>\n ESO\u202fbuilds and operates a suite of the world\u2019s most advanced ground-based astronomical telescopes. ESO has an annual budget of 135 million Euros and is constructing the billion Euro ELT (Extremely Large Telescope) project.<\/p>\n ESO has its headquarters in Garching, Germany, and operates three major sites in Chile. Major facilities include the\u202fVery Large Telescope (VLT)<\/a>\u202fand the\u202fAtacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA)<\/a>.<\/p>\n The UK has been a member of ESO for 20 years.<\/p>\n Find out more about the European Southern Observatory<\/a>.<\/p>\n ESS is currently under construction in Lund, Sweden, and will be the world\u2019s most powerful neutron source.<\/p>\n It will provide new opportunities for researchers in a broad range of scientific areas, including materials, life sciences, energy, environmental technology, cultural heritage and fundamental physics. The facility is expected to open in late 2027.<\/p>\n Find out more about the European Spallation Source<\/a>.<\/p>\n ESRF is Europe\u2019s most intense X-ray source and a centre of excellence for fundamental and innovation-driven research in condensed and living matter science. It is located in Grenoble, France. The UK is one of 21 partner countries.<\/p>\n Find out more about the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility<\/a>.<\/p>\n Eu-XFEL is a research facility in Hamburg, Germany, which generates intense X-ray flashes. These X-ray flashes allow scientists to map atomic details of viruses, film chemical reactions and study the processes in the interior of planets, among many other applications.<\/p>\n Find out more about European XFEL<\/a>.<\/p>\n FAIR is under construction at the GSI laboratory near Darmstadt, Germany. FAIR will provide a unique range of high-energy and high-intensity radioactive ion beams, high intensity anti-protons and high-energy heavy-ions.<\/p>\n These beams will support a broad range of science, including nuclear structure, hadronic, relativistic heavy ion, plasma and atomic physics.<\/p>\n Find out more about Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research<\/a>.<\/p>\n The ILL is one of the world\u2019s premier neutron scattering facilities, with the UK one of the ILL\u2019s three founding councils.<\/p>\n Based in Grenoble, France, the ILL is a reactor-based facility where a broad range of research is carried out, including in condensed matter physics, chemistry, biology, materials and earth sciences, engineering, and nuclear and particle physics.<\/p>\n Find out more about Institut Laue-Langevin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the world\u2019s largest radio telescope. When fully operational in 2030, it aims to revolutionise our understanding of the universe and the laws of fundamental physics.<\/p>\n It is an international project, located in Australia and South Africa, with its global headquarters in the UK. Through STFC, the UK government is committing \u00a3277 million to the construction of SKA and its headquarters, as a core member of the project.<\/p>\n Find out more about the Square Kilometre Array Observatory<\/a>.<\/p>\n UKRI also funds national resources and facilities through our councils:<\/p>\nEuropean Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)<\/h3>\n
European Southern Observatory (ESO)<\/h3>\n
European Spallation Source (ESS)<\/h3>\n
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)<\/h3>\n
European XFEL (Eu-XFEL)<\/h3>\n
Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR)<\/h3>\n
Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL)<\/h3>\n
Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)<\/h3>\n
National facilities<\/h2>\n
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Ask a question about infrastructure<\/h2>\n