The Institute of High Energy Physics

What The Institute of High Energy Physics does

The Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) is a multidisciplinary national research institution under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), headquartered in Beijing, China. Founded in 1963, IHEP designs, builds, and operates a portfolio of large-scale scientific facilities for particle physics, astroparticle physics, accelerator science, and multi-disciplinary research. Its flagship asset is the High Energy Photon Source (HEPS), Asia's first fourth-generation synchrotron radiation light source, with 6 GeV electron energy, sub-60 pm·rad emittance, and X-ray brightness exceeding 1×10²² phs/s/mm²/mrad²/0.1%BW. Additional facilities include the BEPCII electron-positron collider with the BESIII detector, the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), and the Daya Bay Neutrino Experiment.

The organization operates an open user facility model: scientists from universities, research institutes, and industrial enterprises worldwide submit competitive proposals for beamtime allocation through the HEPS User Service System, with the first global call opening in March 2026. Phase I of HEPS hosts 14 public beamlines (out of a 90+ station capacity) covering protein crystallography, transmission X-ray microscopy, high-pressure studies, engineering materials, and hard X-ray spectroscopy. By mid-February 2026, HEPS had supported 222 experiments for 91 institutions with nearly 5,000 hours of beam time, and a later count reported 295 projects from 107 institutions totaling 7,632.5 hours — including industrial users BYD, CATL, China Steel Research Group, CRRC Changchun, and Baowu Group alongside academic institutions such as Tsinghua, Peking University, the National University of Singapore, and University College London.

IHEP is not a commercially operated company; it is a state-owned research entity funded primarily through government special funds from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Beijing municipal government. The HEPS construction budget alone was 4.8 billion yuan (approximately $743 million). Access to facilities is granted via competitive proposal evaluation rather than paid subscriptions, and ancillary software products such as MOCUPY V2.0 (a GPU-accelerated CT reconstruction toolkit) are released as research tools. IHEP runs international collaborations spanning Brazil (CNPEM), Spain (CELLS/ALBA), Thailand, and Russia, and its scientific output is published in top-tier journals including Physical Review Letters, Nature Physics, and Nature.

Name

The Institute of High Energy Physics

Legal name

Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Website

https://english.ihep.cas.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) is a Chinese Academy of Sciences research institution that operates world-class particle physics and synchrotron radiation facilities—including HEPS, BEPCII/BESIII, LHAASO, JUNO, and CSNS—serving academic and industrial researchers globally via an open user facility model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Research Infrastructure

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (541380), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), X-Ray Apparatus & Tubes & Related Irradiation Apparatus (3844), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Test Reactor Operations (Non-Commercial Power) (EUACADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Radiation Detection Instruments & Systems (Portal monitors, spectrometers, contamination monitors) (EUAKAIAK), Reactor Monitoring, Diagnostics & Predictive Maintenance (Sensors, Digital Twin, PHM) (EUAKADAM)

Keywords

• Synchrotron radiation research
• Particle physics experiments
• Scientific user facilities
• Neutrino detection systems
• Cosmic ray observation

Headquarters

HQ city

Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: IHEP is a national research institution under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, primarily funded through government special funds from the state and Beijing municipal government. The HEPS project construction budget was 4.8 billion yuan (approximately $743 million). Revenue comes from national scientific and technological infrastructure funding rather than commercial product revenue.
2. User Facility Services: As a user facility, IHEP provides beamtime and experimental services to academic and industrial researchers. The facility operates on an open-access model where researchers submit proposals for beamtime allocation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) operates major national scientific research facilities including the High Energy Photon Source (HEPS), BEPCII/BESIII, LHAASO, JUNO, the China Spallation Neutron Source, and the Daya Bay Neutrino Experiment. It provides open user facility access to researchers worldwide, offering beamtime allocation, experimental stations, and supporting software for fundamental physics research and multi-disciplinary applications across materials science, biology, medicine, energy, and aerospace.

Product overview

The Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences operates a portfolio of major scientific research facilities centered around particle physics and synchrotron radiation. The flagship product is the High Energy Photon Source (HEPS), a fourth-generation synchrotron radiation light source providing ultra-bright X-rays through 14 Phase I beamlines for multi-disciplinary research. IHEP also operates particle physics experiments including BESIII at BEPCII, the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), China Spallation Neutron Source, JUNO, and Daya Bay Neutrino Experiment. Supporting software products include MOCUPY V2.0 for CT reconstruction.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• High Energy Photon Source (HEPS) China's first high-energy synchrotron radiation light source and one of the world's brightest fourth-generation synchrotron radiation facilities, providing ultra-bright X-rays for materials science, biology, medicine, and fundamental physics research.
• HEPS Beamlines (Phase I - 14 beamlines) Fourteen public beamline stations including Microfocusing X-Ray Protein Crystallography (ID02), Transmission X-Ray Microscopic (ID30), High Pressure (ID31), Hard X-Ray High Resolution Spectroscopy (ID33), Engineering Materials (ID07), and others for multi-disciplinary research.
• BESIII Detector at BEPCII Magnetic spectrometer at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider II (BEPCII) for studying charmonium physics, exotic hadrons, and tau-charm threshold phenomena, with accumulated 10 billion J/psi events and 2.7 billion psi(3686) events.
• Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) China's national large-scale cosmic ray detection facility for high-precision measurements of cosmic ray spectra and gamma-ray astronomy, discovering extreme particle accelerators (PeVatrons) in the Milky Way.
• China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) Pulsed spallation neutron source facility providing neutron beams for materials science, condensed matter physics, and other research disciplines.
• Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) Underground neutrino experiment measuring neutrino mass ordering and studying neutrino oscillation physics with first physics result published in Nature.
• Daya Bay Neutrino Experiment Neutrino experiment measuring neutrino mixing angle θ13 using antineutrino detectors.
• MOCUPY V2.0 GPU-accelerated CT reconstruction software using CUDA, written in Python, developed by HEPS TXM beamline team for synchrotron radiation users, featuring 100% GPU acceleration, automatic rotation axis correction, phase retrieval modules, and sub-pixel image jitter correction.

Quantifiable outcome

• HEPS provides 7,632.5 hours of beam time supporting 295 research projects from 107 institutions
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Thailand (Royal Visit)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 13 April 2026HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand and her delegation visited HEPS on April 13, 2025, indicating royal-level interest in synchrotron science collaboration with Thailand's research institutions.
• Russian Federation Ministry of Science and Higher EducationcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2026Russian Federation Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov led a delegation visiting IHEP's Dongguan campus, indicating interest in neutrino and particle physics collaboration between China and Russia.
• Chiang Mai University, ThailandminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026A delegation led by Prof. Pongruk Sribanditmongkol, President of Chiang Mai University in Thailand, visited IHEP from April 10 to 13, exploring potential research collaborations in particle physics and synchrotron science.
• Consortium for the Construction, Equipping and Exploitation of the Synchrotron Light Source (CELLS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 July 2025IHEP and CELLS signed cooperation agreement on synchrotron science and technology on July 26. The partnership focuses on advancing synchrotron light source technology, beamline development, and scientific applications between the two institutions.
• Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 July 2025Inaugurated China-Brazil Joint Laboratory for Synchrotron Science and Technology at CNPEM in Brazil. IHEP and CNPEM signed cooperation agreement for joint synchrotron science research, technology development, and scientific collaboration. This partnership enables technology exchange and joint experiments between the two major synchrotron facilities.
• Spain (Government)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 11 April 2025In the frame of the official visit of Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez to China, a new China-Spain cooperation in synchrotron light source development was announced. IHEP and Spanish institutions agreed to alliance to advance synchrotron light innovation, with delegation visits including Secretary of State Dr. Juan Cruz Cigudosa from Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain.
• BESIII International CollaborationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBESIII is an international collaboration involving scientists from multiple countries conducting experiments at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider II. The collaboration has published numerous landmark results including charmonium physics and exotic hadron discoveries.
• LHAASO CollaborationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLHAASO collaboration involves multiple institutions including Sapienza University of Rome and others for cosmic ray and gamma-ray astronomy research. The collaboration discovered PeVatrons and extreme particle accelerators in the Milky Way.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MAX IV Laboratory: Sweden's first 4th-generation synchrotron (multi-bend achromat design, similar architectural philosophy to HEPS). Comparable scale and beamline expansion roadmap; serves as a benchmark for HEPS's Phase II build-out.
• Diamond Light Source: U.K.'s national synchrotron facility operating a 3 GeV ring (Diamond-II upgrade underway). Comparable user-facility model and beamline portfolio serving academic and industrial users — partially overlapping catchment with HEPS for European proposals.
• SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory: U.S. DOE national accelerator lab operating the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) and Linac Coherent Light Source. Directly comparable to IHEP as a government-funded multi-beamline light source serving global academic and industrial users.
• Brookhaven National Laboratory: U.S. DOE lab operating the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), another 4th-generation ring. Direct peer in accelerator design, user programs, and government-funded national-facility mission.
• DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron): Germany's national accelerator laboratory operating PETRA III (upgrading to PETRA IV, a 4th-generation synchrotron comparable to HEPS). Closest European peer in scale, beamline count, and user-community model.
• Argonne National Laboratory (Advanced Photon Source): Home of the Advanced Photon Source, a 4th-generation upgrade (APS-U). IHEP's IAC explicitly references APS, confirming it as a directly comparable U.S. peer for ultra-bright X-ray science.
• European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF): Intergovernmental 4th-generation synchrotron in Grenoble, France — the world's first high-energy 4th-generation ring (ESRF-EBS). Most direct global competitor for high-energy X-ray beamtime and industrial users.
• ALBA Synchrotron (CELLS): Spain's 3rd-generation synchrotron. Active cooperation partner with IHEP (signed July 2025 agreement) and serves Mediterranean user base; comparable beamline count and user-facility economics.
• SPring-8 / JASRI: Japan's flagship 8 GeV synchrotron radiation facility — most relevant Asian peer and direct regional competitor for industrial and academic beamtime in semiconductors, batteries, and materials.

Emerging players

• Canadian Light Source: Canada's national synchrotron facility (3rd-generation, multiple beamlines). Smaller scale than HEPS but operates a comparable open-access user model and serves academic/industrial clients across North America.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-institute-of-high-energy-physics-ihep-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Institute of High Energy Physics