Session A • The Future Circular Collider programme: Near- and medium-term opportunities for industry and academia engagement

The Future Circular Collider (FCC) is a proposed next-generation research infrastructure for two sequential particle colliders in a shared underground complex. The latest update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics identifies the FCC as the preferred option for CERN’s next flagship facility. Its concept has been developed since 2014 by an international collaboration hosted by CERN, with comprehensive technical feasibility reports released in 2025.

The programme is now entering a preparatory phase aimed at supporting an informed decision on construction. This phase includes compiling the technical, environmental, financial, and administrative documentation required to seek authorisations in the host states of France and Switzerland, while advancing designs to construction readiness. The initiative offers significant opportunities for companies and academic institutions to contribute to engineering designs, technology development, and innovation partnerships.

Current priorities focus on subsurface and surface site works. Activities include detailed geophysical and geotechnical investigations; design of underground structures; planning of tunnelling and cavern excavation; architectural integration reflecting public consultation outcomes and environmental diagnostics; engineering designs of core technical systems such as electrical distribution, cooling, ventilation, cryogenics, and underground transport. Sustainability objectives are embedded throughout the development.

Targeted technology R&D programmes, implemented through industry-academia partnerships concern high-efficiency electrical-to-radiofrequency energy conversion, high-temperature superconductors for high-field magnets, detector systems combining radiation hardness with fast timing and readout, and embedded processing with integrated AI capabilities.