[Eicatjlab_all_personnel] [EXTERNAL] FW: EIC Planning Update

[Petrone, Alyssa]

Dear EIC Project Team Members,

Following the communication sent on November 21st, we were able to make some important decisions regarding the future direction of the EIC design and project implementation plans.

Optimization of the Electron Injector - The decision was made to remove the Rapid Cycling Synchrotron (RCS) from the RHIC/EIC tunnel.  The preliminary RCS concept is a new 1.4-km ring, located near Interaction Region 4.  The cost and performance optimization of the entire injector (linac and RCS) will continue into the Spring of 2025.  The justification for the decision and the plan for advancing the electron injector design and for addressing the full implication of this important change will be presented at the DOE review in early January.  Sergei Nagaitsev, EIC Technical Director, is the primary point of contact for questions.

Strategy for Project Delivery - We will propose to DOE that the EIC line-item construction project will be delivered with at least three subprojects:  1) Collider, 2) IR & Detector, and 3) Electron Injector.  There is also the possibility of a fourth subproject to complete the full project scope.  The relevant scope for infrastructure, radio frequency acceleration, cryogenics, and global systems will be aligned with the appropriate subprojects.  We will continue to prepare the preliminary baseline for the line-item project and prepare the first subproject for a DOE approval in 2026.  The overall schedule for planning and implementing subprojects will be distributed soon and presented at the DOE review.  Luisella Lari, EIC Project Manager, is the primary point of contact for questions.

Early Science Program - We are planning an "Early Science Program" starting with electron-ion collisions, lasting five years.  The Early Science Program is being developed in collaboration with the scientific community and is aligned with the ramp-up in facility performance defined by the key performance objectives.  Rolf Ent and Elke Aschenauer, Co-Associate Directors for the EIC Experimental Program, started working with the scientific community on the early science plans earlier this year and are the primary points of contact for questions.

Beam Cooling - The project is no longer planning to implement Strong Hadron Cooling within the scope of the line-item construction project.  Low Energy Cooling will be added to the scope of the line-item project. These changes are responsive to the concerns raised in earlier DOE reviews and result in lower technical performance risk and reduced construction cost. The justification for these decisions will be presented at the DOE review.  Following the DOE review we will implement the changes in our planning documentation.

Unfortunately, there is no new information on FY2025 funding.  It is likely that the current Continuing Resolution (CR) will be extended into early 2025.  We need to be flexible.  Most importantly we need to demonstrate that the EIC project is worthy of the annual funding increases we are requesting.  The pre-brief for the DOE Independent Project Review (IPR) committee was conducted this afternoon and we are on track for a successful DOE IPR on January 7-9, 2025.

Sincerely,
Jim Yeck
EIC Project Director




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