Sudbury’s Snolab to receive $102 million in federal investment

Sudbury's Snolab, the epicentre of global astroparticle physics and underground science discovery, is set to receive significant federal investment to continue its work studying neutrinos and dark matter.

On Aug. 19, 2022, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne announced a $628 million investment package to support 19 research infrastructure projects at 14 institutions across the country, part of Canada Foundation for Innovation's (CIF) Major Science Initiative program.

Among the recipients in this round of CFI funding was Snolab, which will receive $102 million over the next six years.

“This is terrific news for Canada’s growing astroparticle physics research community, for Snolab's hundreds of international collaborators, and for Greater Sudbury,” Snolab's executive director Dr. Jodi Cooley stated in a press release.

“Sustained investments such as this have allowed Snolab to develop world-class infrastructure and highly skilled staff,” Cooley added. “It allows Snolab to maintain and develop a world-leading deep underground research facility and investigate some of the fundamental questions in contemporary science.”

Snolab is home to more than 1,100 researchers from 164 institutions spanning 24 countries, working primarily in neutrino and dark matter investigations, as well as biology, geology and low radiological studies. The facility is located 2 km below the Earth’s surface in Vale's operational Creighton nickel mine near Sudbury, Ont.

Currently, there is space for one more next generation experiment, and there are two international collaborations vying for it, Cooley said.

“These funds will allow us to continue to attract world class experiments to Sudbury, providing great opportunities for Canadian researchers and industry,” Cooley said.

To learn more, visit www.snolab.ca.