Orion is a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research with the world’s first maximum biological containment laboratory connected to a particle accelerator, Sirius
On the campus of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), excavation has begun at the site of the building that will house Orion, the laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. The objective of this excavation is to reach the depth needed for the underground portions of the infrastructure, removing roughly 40,000 cubic meters of soil during this stage.
Excavations for the basement of the building, which will house infrastructure support (Photo: Outreach/CNPEM)
The basement level will contain the building’s support area: materials will be loaded and unloaded here, and it will also house electrical and IT equipment, storerooms, and boilers to treat effluent from the maximum biological containment laboratory. The building will have a total of four stories, with the main entrance at the same level as Sirius, the particle accelerator, and this floor will contain the laboratories, offices for the researchers and experimental techniques, as well as the beamlines connected to Sirius.
After excavations are complete, the concrete reinforcement framework will be installed to support the building. CNPEM Manager for Engineering and Technology James Citadini, who is also responsible for the team leading construction of Orion, has more details: “We are at a very fundamental stage, which is construction of the lower level of Orion. It is a high-complexity building that is being built alongside one of Sirius’s most sensitive beamlines. So the challenge lies in doing all the of the earthworks and ensuring that Sirius remains operational,” he explains. “It is not as difficult of an infrastructure to build as Sirius, but there are some specific characteristics like the foundation, the construction of the basement, the various different biosafety level laboratories, and all the instrumentation and equipment for operations,” he adds.
According to Citadini, when the underground phase is concluded the next step will be to place the foundations, where the structural elements of the building will be attached, followed by installation of the floors. Next the structure and outer surfaces will be assembled, starting construction of the building itself.
As with the other facilities at CNPEM, the infrastructure at Orion will serve the domestic and international scientific community, and will support national sovereignty in facing health crises.
CNPEM staff gather to commemorate a historic moment for Project Orion: the start of excavations (Photo: Outreach/CNPEM)
CNPEM Director General Antonio José Roque da Silva emphasizes the importance of Orion and the internationally pioneering nature of the project, which will be the first maximum biosafety laboratory connected to a synchrotron light source.
“We experienced a pandemic and recognize the importance of having appropriate infrastructure to address them, along with the need to provide Brazilian society with responses. Today Brazil does not have a level four biosecurity lab, although there are pathogens of this level that have already caused deaths here and in neighboring countries. This will be the first project in the world to connect these high biosafety environments with synchrotron beamlines. This will provide globally unprecedented capacity for analysis, positioning Brazil as a leader in research on pathogens. But besides research, Orion will also allow the development of vaccines and diagnostics. It will be important for health surveillance, and will work like CNPEM’s other large-scale facilities which are open. So it is at CNPEM, but it is intended for Brazil, for all researchers, and eventually for companies in Brazil and around the world,” highlights the Director General.
Project Orion
Project Orion is a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research which will include Latin America’s highest biological containment level facilities (BSL-4) and the only lab of this kind in the world connected to a particle accelerator, Sirius. Currently under construction in the city of Campinas, São Paulo on the CNPEM campus, this project will combine analytic techniques and advanced competencies in bioimaging which will be open to the scientific community and public agencies. By permitting advances in knowledge on pathogens and related diseases, Orion will support health surveillance activities and policies, as well as the development of diagnostic methods, vaccines, treatments, and epidemiological strategies. Orion will support national sovereignty in facing health crises, and has the potential to benefit various areas such as health, science and technology, defense, and the environment.
The implementation of Project Orion is overseen by the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), a social organization linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). The project is part of the federal government’s New Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and funded with resources from the National Scientific and Technological Development Fund (FNDCT) and MCTI, with support from the Ministry of Health (MS). This initiative is part of the federal government’s New Industry Brazil (NIB) stimulus policy and will serve as an instrument of national sovereignty, competence, and security in the fields of science and technology for research, defense, and human, animal, and environmental health. Orion was also planned to strengthen the Health Economic-Industrial Complex (CEIS), an initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Health and intended to meet priority demands from the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS).
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently developing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. It is responsible for operating the Brazilian Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), and Biorenewables (LNBR) National Laboratories, as well as the Ilum School of Science, which offers a bachelor’s degree program in science and Technology with support from the Ministry of Education (MEC).
