Big FAIR procurements in 2021

The plan for 2021 includes potential procurements for a total value of approximately SEK 3 billion.

The international accelerator facility FAIR, one of the largest research projects worldwide, is currently under construction near Darmstadt in southern Germany. At this Big Science Morning, representatives from FAIR gave an update on procurement needs, current status, and business plans.

One of the morning’s speakers, Dr Sonia Utermann, In-kind and Procurement Adviser at FAIR, was looking forward to technical discussions and greater collaboration with Swedish companies. She sees the relationship with suppliers more as a R&D partnership, and emphasises the strength in companies collaborating with the researchers at the facility on R&D.

“Many companies seek out opportunities to supply Big Science as part of their innovation strategy”, says Dr Sonia Utermann, In-kind and Procurement Adviser at FAIR.

We also heard presentations by two of her colleagues from FAIR – Dr. Faraz Amjad, Design and Planning Engineer, who talked about remote handling in the Super-FRS, and Christos Karagiannis, Electrical/Automation Engineer, who gave a review of hot cell requirements på FAIR.

Another contributor was Professor Tord Johansson, Uppsala University, who is involved in the PANDA Experiment, one of the key experiments at FAIR.

This Big Science Morning event gathered an engaged audience, with participants from Swedish and European high-tech companies and representatives from academia, institutes, and research facilities.

Frida Tibblin Citron, Business Development Officer at Big Science Sweden.

“Swedish companies now have great opportunities to become suppliers to FAIR, with so much going on right now,” says Frida Tibblin Citron, Business Development Officer at Big Science Sweden.

“Winning business orders requires detailed knowledge about research needs, procurement procedures and contact channels. This is the type of information we share at forums like Big Science Mornings.”