XFEL: European XFEL moves to new headquarters in Schenefeld

On 20 June, European XFEL will move from the Bahrenfeld district of Hamburg to its new headquarters in Schenefeld. The relocation of about 300 European XFEL scientists, engineers, technicians, and administrative staff marks a major shift of activity to the new European XFEL research campus, which will attract researchers from around the globe to Schenefeld to do cutting-edge science in fields as diverse as biomedicine and astrophysics from 2017 on. The offices and corresponding infrastructure of the new headquarters building are now fully functional, while furnishing the laboratories, minor construction work on the exterior of the building, as well as some construction activities on the campus are still ongoing. The official inauguration of the new headquarters building is scheduled for 29 June. Operation of the European XFEL facility is expected to begin next year, when its users will be able conduct studies of matter with unprecedented detail using the X-ray laser flashes produced by the 3.4-km long facility.

European XFEL’s research campus in Schenefeld is at the end of an underground tunnel system extending from the DESY campus in Hamburg. Until now European XFEL GmbH, the non-profit corporation responsible for building and operating the new X-ray laser, had rented offices at two buildings at Albert-Einstein-Ring, close to the DESY campus. The new three-storey European XFEL headquarters building, with the facility’s offices and laboratories, has been built on top of the large underground experiment hall. Inside the experiment hall, scientific users will be able to conduct their research, doing studies of ultrafast processes, tiny structures, and extreme states of matter using the European XFEL’s unique X-ray laser light.

 

Since 2009, visitors and those who frequent the trails linking Schenefeld to the Bornpark across the border with Hamburg have been able to observe the different phases of the construction progress of the European XFEL. Now they can see the white headquarters building with a cobblestone plaza in front of it, as well as several support buildings in close proximity that for example house the facility’s air conditioning and electrical systems. A white gatehouse just ahead of the headquarters building will soon also be completed.

“We are happy to move to our new campus as this will be the centre of our facility and its scientific activities, and we thank the authorities of Schenefeld and the Kreis Pinneberg for their support, especially Schenefeld Mayor Christiane Küchenhof and Pinneberg Chief Executive Oliver Stolz”, said European XFEL Administrative and Managing Director Claudia Burger.

European XFEL Managing Director Massimo Altarelli added: “Our staff will continue to work hard to prepare for the start of user operation, which will bring scientists from around the world to Schenefeld."