Jefferson Lab: Inflation Reduction Act Funding Moves Key Jefferson Lab Projects Forward

New jobs, new research equipment and workspace revitalization top the list of projects that the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility will pursue with $76.5 million new funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. The funds will not only ensure the continued vitality of Virginia’s national lab, but it will also benefit the lab’s surrounding communities.

“America’s commitment to science and ingenuity shaped us into the world leaders we are today, and the continued success of our national laboratories will ensure we’re at the global forefront of innovation for generations to come,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, these world-class institutions will receive $1.5 billion—one of the largest ever investments in national laboratory infrastructure—to develop advanced energy and manufacturing technologies we need to advance the frontiers of science and tackle tomorrow’s challenges.”

Secretary Granholm’s live announcement regarding Inflation Reduction Act funding for science at the national laboratories will be available at www.energy.gov/live at 2 p.m. CDT.

Jefferson Lab will receive Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding to advance four key projects. Two of these – the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) and MOLLER – are key research projects that will enable nuclear physicists to unlock information about the building blocks of our visible universe. The other two projects – the CEBAF Renovation and Expansion and the Laydown Yard Expansion – will ensure that Jefferson Lab has the facilities it needs to support its scientific mission now and well into the future.

More information can be found on each of the projects below. The IRA funding noted here is just a portion of the funding identified for each of these multi-year projects.

The Electron-Ion Collider Project – $33.06 million

Jefferson Lab is a major partner in the EIC project, which will build a one-of-a-kind nuclear physics research facility at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. As a partner in the EIC project, Jefferson Lab will receive $33.06 million in IRA funding that will be used to move forward with project planning and key purchases, as well as to augment the project team with an additional 60 staff hires in a range of science, engineering and technical fields. The IRA funds will enable the project to continue to pursue the goal of DOE Critical Decision-2 (CD-2), Approve Performance Baseline, in 2024 and to commence construction following the next Critical Decision, expected a year later.

The EIC will be the first particle collider of its kind in the world. Its experiments will help unlock the secrets of the strongest force in nature and explore how tiny particles called quarks and gluons build up all visible matter. The science and technology of the EIC has the potential to power the technologies of tomorrow in physics, health and medicine, national security, nuclear energy, radioisotopes, and industrial uses of particle beams.

The MOLLER Project – $31.22 million

The Measurement of a Lepton-Lepton Electroweak Reaction (MOLLER) experiment will receive $31.22 million in IRA funding to probe the electrons inside matter and make a precise measurement of the electron’s weak charge. This is a gauge of how much influence one of the four forces in nature, the weak force, exerts on the electron. A precision measurement of this quantity provides a stringent test of the Standard Model, the theory that describes the particles and interactions that make up all everyday matter. IRA funding represents the majority of the remaining funding required to execute the project. This will allow the experiment to remain on a technically driven schedule and to obtain early physics results in the same timeframe as complementary results from the Large Hadron Collider and the Mainz Microtron. The IRA funding ensures timely procurement of materials needed to build experimental equipment and funding for key staff needed to complete the project.

The CEBAF Renovation and Expansion Project – $10 million

The CEBAF Renovation and Expansion (CRE) project will receive $10 million in IRA funding for renovation of Jefferson Lab’s main administration building and conference space, as well as for a building expansion and the acquisition of additional existing office space. The project will modernize facilities, improve sustainability and eliminate deferred maintenance. It will result in a total of up to 210,000 square feet of office and collaborative space that meets DOE high-performance, sustainable building standards to house staff, students and visiting scientists. (Note: CEBAF refers to Jefferson Lab’s particle accelerator, the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, but this particular project does not include an upgrade to the particle accelerator itself.)

The Laydown Yard Expansion Project – $2.25 million

The Laydown Yard Expansion project will receive $2.25 million in IRA funding to provide 100,000 square feet of outside storage to accommodate large experimental assemblies, support structures, and equipment for future experiments and operations. The expansion will roughly double an existing centrally located storage area, improve material management, and replace the multiple areas currently used for this purpose.