FAQ

Today, our society faces major global challenges, such as climate change, sustainable energy supply and resource use, digitalisation and mobility, or the therapy of previously incurable diseases. As the world's best 3D X-ray microscope, PETRA IV will be a unique research tool that will provide hundreds of times more detailed images of microscopic processes in new materials and future medical agents. This will enable German and international scientists to make decisive scientific advances in these fields that have not been not possible with previous technical means.

PETRA IV will become by far the best light source of its kind. To build and operate PETRA IV sustainably and effectively, the accelerator facility must be integrated into the existing tunnels of PETRA III. The existing infrastructure at DESY – from pre-accelerators to cooling facilities and data centres – is required for the operation of PETRA IV. A complete new construction of PETRA IV “on a greenfield site” would be much more expensive and would also not be justifiable from the point of view of sustainability.

PETRA IV is a central component of the new Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld district and significantly increases the attractiveness of Hamburg as a science location.

PETRA IV is part of the Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld. The realisation of this urban development project is planned for the next 20 years and consists of many coordinated construction projects. PETRA IV is a key element of the Science City and at the same time one of the first projects in this overall concept. With PETRA IV, it’s a piece of the Science City that will be created.

The PETRA IV project follows the usual procedure for the design of large-scale technical facilities. This means that a scientific concept study for PETRA IV has been prepared by the end of 2019. Currently, the exact technical design of the facility is being determined. This will then give rise to the Technical Design Report (TDR), which is scheduled for completion in late 2023.

This report contains the technical construction plans of the accelerator, the X-ray beamlines and the surrounding infrastructure. It also outlines the construction activities and their sequence, and provides details of the expected project costs.

With the TDR and a commitment from the funding agencies, the construction planning procedure and construction approval procedure is then to be started. At present, we are therefore still in an early phase of planning.

Presumably from the beginning of 2023, DESY will be ready to submit an application to its funding agencies (the federal government and the City of Hamburg) to fund PETRA IV. By then, a sufficiently precisely specified technical design and a reliable cost estimate for PETRA IV will be available. At that time, there will also be a scientific review by an independent panel of experts (National Science Council), which will assess the research and innovation potential of the facility. This will be the basis for a decision on a funding commitment by the federal government and the City of Hamburg. Only after a funding commitment has been made can both the start of construction as well as the construction schedule be planned.

The start of work will depend on the progress of the approval process. Immediately after approval, the first orders will mark the start of the project. We are aiming for construction to start approx. 2 years after approval.

The exact costs of the project will be determined in the TDR phase that has now started. They are expected to be in the upper three-digit million range.

At present, we anticipate business interruption of two years. A planning of the construction phase will be worked out with the Technical Design Report. This will extend over a period of approx. 4-5 years with the preparatory and follow-up work. We assure you that we will keep the construction phase as short as possible in the interest of all, also because the construction of PETRA IV is associated with a shutdown of the currently running X-ray microscope PETRA III, which will lead to considerable restrictions for research at DESY.

It is already foreseeable that the Lise Meitner Park will be at least partially closed during the construction period including preparation and follow-up of about four to five years. For the construction of the approximately 600-metre-long experiment hall, large quantities of excavated earth will have to be moved and at least partially removed during the first months of the construction phase. For the later construction of the hall, large quantities of building material will be transported to DESY. We plan to handle all access and departure via the existing DESY access roads, if possible. However, we cannot rule out additional construction site access roads at the moment. It is expected that there will be phases when, for example, compaction work will cause greater noise.

We expect construction work to take place only during the day on weekdays. Exceptions may be concreting work, for example, which will have to be carried out throughout.

The Technical Design Report for the PETRA IV project will contain details of the construction measures. With it, we will be able to give concrete figures for construction traffic and resulting disruptions. In any case, we will strive to minimise the impact on residents and will examine all measures necessary to achieve this.

Our current information on the construction time is a realistic estimate based on DESY’s experience with the construction of comparable facilities, for example the European XFEL. The exact construction schedule will be determined with the contracted companies and made public. Should there be delays due to weather conditions, for example, we would have to react flexibly to these disturbances. Of course, the applicable limits for noise emissions and working hours would always be observed. What we an already guarantee: In the event of a change in the construction schedule, we will inform the neighbourhood in good time.

The limit values for emissions from construction sites are defined in the relevant regulations, in particular the Federal Immission Control Ordinance (BImSchV), and must be complied with. Among other things, this states: “On all days in the period from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., special quiet protection should apply. In residential and other areas requiring special protection, construction machinery must not be operated at all on Sundays and public holidays and not on workdays in the period from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.”

We plan that the Lise Meitner Park will be significantly upgraded in terms of quality as a compensation measure. Concrete measures will be determined as part of the construction project. It is planned to compensate for restrictions as close to the site as possible. DESY is in close exchange with the environmental authority and the landscape planning in the district office in order to find a good solution for the citizens and residents.

The boundaries of the Lise Meitner Park will shift. To compensate for the part occupied by PETRA IV, extensions are planned elsewhere. In addition, the nature and recreational value of the Lise Meitner Park will be qualitatively upgraded. This will also be an important topic of the citizens’ participation.

Particle accelerators require a lot of energy, but they also offer research opportunities that are not available at other facilities. We are constantly working to build and operate our accelerators as energy-efficiently as possible, for example by using waste heat from cooling, by using green electricity, or by equipping the accelerators with as many measuring stations as possible, thus enabling more research with the same energy consumption. The research centre DESY offers excellent infrastructures and competences that can be used with high synergy and very efficiently for many research facilities and projects.

However, it is especially the research results that make a research facility sustainable. For example, research is being conducted at PETRA III on flexible solar cells, on regenerative building materials or, most recently, on drugs against Covid-19.

The construction work should not affect the safety and health of your family. Should you nevertheless perceive this, please contact our neighbourhood office immediately.

Unfortunately, we cannot rule out a temporary reduction in the quality of life, as the Lise Meitner Park is expected to be temporarily inaccessible or only partially accessible during the construction work.

PETRA IV poses no danger to people or the environment. DESY has been building, operating and using particle accelerators for research for more than 60 years. We have a great deal of experience and many years of know-how in this field. Our departments for safety, environmental protection and radiation protection ensure the highest safety standards.

The new buildings are also constructed in such a way that hazards are excluded. Regular legally required inspections ensure this throughout the entire operation.

PETRA IV will generate about the same amount of X-ray light overall as the PETRA III X-ray microscope in operation today. However, the light can be used for experiments with 100 times greater efficiency due to its extreme bundling. Thus, PETRA IV is above all a qualitative leap forward, but the operational and safety concepts are very similar.

Yes. We have set up the PETRA IV neighbourhood office for this purpose. You can find the contact details on the website https://petra4.desy.de/petra_iv/contact_us/index_eng.html.

We are working on a concept to keep the burden on the neighbourhood as low as possible. To this end, we are open to suggestions and are available for discussions. In addition, there is a public process of citizen participation by Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld GmbH on behalf of the City of Hamburg.

Yes! We can assure you of that without reservation.

Yes. A good relationship with our neighbours is essential for us, which is why it is tradition at DESY to maintain good contact and dialogue with our neighbourhood and residents. Our PETRA IV neighbourhood office continuously takes care of the concerns of affected citizens and engages in an intensive dialogue. Regular information, for example in the form of newsletters, is planned for the construction period in particular.