Fermilab to close Tevatron in September

BATAVIA, Ill., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A denial of more funds for Fermilab's particle accelerator known as Tevatron means the accelerator near Batavia, Ill., will close in September, officials said.

The closure of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory's Tevatron, which accelerates protons so scientists can study collisions, had been expected because of the construction of the more powerful Large Hadron Collider, a 17-mile loop on the Swiss-French border, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

The Tevatron is a 4.26-mile underground loop that had been the leading facility of its kind in the world.

Construction of the European collider meant Fermilab began shifting its focus to other projects, lab spokesman Kurt Riesselmann said.

Fermilab had funding to operate the Tevatron through September but sought $100 million in federal funds to keep the accelerator running for several more years, Riesselmann said. The Department of Energy Monday notified Fermilab it had rejected the lab's request for the additional funds.

"The present budgetary climate did not permit DOE to secure the additional funds needed to run the Tevatron for three more years," Fermilab's director, Pier Oddone, said in a statement. "While we would have liked to run the Tevatron for three more years, our life going forward is full of promising projects and great opportunities for major discoveries."