Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

What Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment does

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is an international scientific research collaboration focused on fundamental neutrino physics, formally established around 2015 and hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. The collaboration brings together 1,500+ scientists and engineers from 228 research institutions across 38 countries and CERN to address three science goals: understanding matter-antimatter asymmetry via neutrino oscillations, searching for physics beyond the Standard Model, and observing supernova neutrinos in real time. DUNE's core technology is the Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC), implemented in both single-phase (horizontal drift) and dual-phase (vertical drift) configurations and validated at scale through the ProtoDUNE-SP (operating since September 2018) and ProtoDUNE-VD prototypes at CERN. The experiment's primary hardware consists of a Near Detector at Fermilab and a Far Detector comprising four 17,000-ton modules installed 1,475 meters underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, separated by a 1,300 km baseline; the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF), which broke ground on July 21, 2017, produces the world's most intense neutrino beam to power the detectors. DUNE does not sell products or services and generates no commercial revenue. Funding flows from the DOE Office of Science, UK Research and Innovation, and partner agencies across 38 countries, with international collaboration formalized through governance bodies including an Executive Board, Institutional Board, two co-spokespersons, and 30+ named coordinators and consortium leaders spanning physics, detector subsystems, software/computing, and outreach. Distribution of scientific output occurs through open peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Physical Review D and the European Physical Journal C, conference presentations managed by the Speakers Committee, three annual collaboration meetings at institutions including Fermilab and CERN, and public channels including the dunescience.org website, Slack, GitHub, and Facebook.

Name

Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

Legal name

Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

Website

https://dunescience.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DUNE is an international neutrino physics research collaboration of 1,500+ scientists from 228 institutions across 38 countries, hosted by Fermilab and funded primarily by the U.S. DOE. It operates massive liquid-argon detectors to study neutrino oscillations, matter-antimatter asymmetry, and supernova events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Batavia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: DUNE is primarily funded through government scientific agencies, primarily the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, with significant international contributions from partner countries and institutions. The experiment is hosted by Fermilab and involves substantial capital investment in detector construction and facility development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DUNE is an international scientific research experiment that builds and operates two massive neutrino detectors—a Near Detector at Fermilab and a four-module 17,000-ton-per-module Far Detector 1,475 meters underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility—to study neutrino oscillations, search for CP violation, detect supernova neutrinos, and probe physics beyond the Standard Model. The experiment is supported by the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, which produces the world's most intense neutrino beam sent 1,300 km from Fermilab to the far detector. Two ProtoDUNE prototypes at CERN validate the detector technologies before full-scale deployment.

Product overview

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is an international scientific research experiment for neutrino physics, not a commercial product. DUNE consists of two primary neutrino detectors—the Far Detector and Near Detector—supported by the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF). The Far Detector comprises four 17,000-ton modules installed underground at Sanford Lab, while the Near Detector is located at Fermilab. ProtoDUNE prototypes (ProtoDUNE-HD and ProtoDUNE-VD) validate detector technologies at CERN. Multiple detector component consortia (APA, PDS, TPC, CRP, HV, DAQ) develop and build specialized subsystems. The DUNE-DAQ Application Framework provides data acquisition software. The experiment pursues three science goals: understanding matter-antimatter asymmetry, searching for physics beyond the Standard Model, and observing supernova neutrinos.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DUNE Far Detector Massive neutrino detector comprising four 17,000-ton liquid-argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) modules installed 1,475 meters (4,850 feet) underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. Observes neutrinos from Fermilab's beam, supernova explosions, and other cosmic sources for fundamental physics research.
• DUNE Near Detector Neutrino detector located at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, near the neutrino beam source. Records particle interactions near the beam origin to provide precise neutrino flux and interaction cross-section measurements for the DUNE oscillation analysis.
• Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) The neutrino beamline and supporting infrastructure facility that produces the world's most intense neutrino beam at Fermilab and sends it 1,300 km to the DUNE Far Detector at Sanford Lab. Includes conventional facilities and the beamline systems serving the DUNE detectors.
• ProtoDUNE-HD (Single-Phase) Single-phase liquid-argon time projection chamber prototype at CERN's Neutrino Platform used to validate horizontal-drift detector technologies at scale before full deployment in the DUNE Far Detector.
• ProtoDUNE-VD (Vertical Drift) Vertical-drift liquid-argon time projection chamber prototype at CERN used to demonstrate the vertical-drift detector concept at scale, validating the design selected for DUNE Far Detector modules.
• DUNE-DAQ Application Framework Data acquisition application framework developed by DUNE for detector control and data collection from the far and near detector modules, supporting automated processing workflows for detector operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully demonstrated vertical drift technology at ProtoDUNE-VD scale, marking a critical milestone for far detector production
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFermilab serves as the host laboratory for the entire DUNE experiment. It hosts the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) neutrino beamline and the near detector. Fermilab provides the operational infrastructure, accelerator complex, and substantial U.S.-based workforce for the experiment. The laboratory is managed by Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.
• Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSURF in Lead, South Dakota hosts the far detector installation, located 1,475 meters underground. Sanford Lab provides the underground caverns and infrastructure for the massive detector modules. Groundbreaking for construction occurred on July 21, 2017, and cryostat material has been delivered for installation.
• CERNcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe European Organization for Nuclear Research hosts the ProtoDUNE prototype detectors at its Neutrino Platform. ProtoDUNE-SP started data collection in September 2018, with ProtoDUNE-VD under construction. CERN collaboration is a key component of the international DUNE partnership, contributing European expertise and infrastructure.
• 228 International Research InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDUNE comprises 228 research institutions from 38 countries and CERN. These institutions contribute to detector consortia (APA, PDS, TPC, CRP, DAQ, HV, ND-LAr, SAND, etc.), provide technical expertise, hardware contributions, and scientific personnel. Each institution participates through formal collaboration agreements and governance structures.
• Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLBNF provides the neutrino beamline and supporting infrastructure for the DUNE detectors. It is an integral part of the overall project, delivering the world's most intense neutrino beam from Fermilab to the Sanford Lab detectors 1,300 kilometers away.
• Los Alamos National LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLANL hosts DUNE co-spokesperson Sowjanya Gollapinni and contributes scientific leadership and technical expertise to the collaboration. The laboratory is a key U.S. institutional participant in detector development.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• T2K Experiment: T2K is a Japan-based long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment using the J-PARC beam sent 295 km to Super-Kamiokande, pursuing the same core science goals (neutrino oscillations, CP violation) as DUNE. It is the current leading long-baseline experiment that DUNE is designed to supersede.
• SNO+: SNO+ is a liquid scintillator neutrino experiment at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Canada, succeeding the original SNO that solved the solar neutrino problem. It pursues neutrino physics from a deep underground location, similar to DUNE's underground deployment, with overlapping science goals in neutrino oscillations and rare event searches.
• Super-Kamiokande: Super-Kamiokande is the operating 50 kton water Cherenkov neutrino detector in Japan that has been detecting atmospheric, solar, and accelerator neutrinos for over two decades. It is the predecessor to Hyper-K and serves as the far detector for T2K, with overlapping science portfolio to DUNE.
• JUNO (Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory): JUNO is a China-based 20 kton liquid scintillator neutrino experiment focused on determining neutrino mass ordering and precision oscillation parameter measurements. It pursues complementary neutrino physics to DUNE from an underground location with significant international collaboration.
• NOvA Experiment: NOvA is Fermilab's current operating long-baseline neutrino experiment using the NuMI beam sent 810 km from Fermilab to Ash River, Minnesota. It shares DUNE's host laboratory, neutrino beam infrastructure, and science goals, serving as DUNE's direct predecessor and ongoing comparator.
• Muon g-2 Experiment (Fermilab): Muon g-2 is a precision physics experiment hosted at Fermilab measuring the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. It shares DUNE's host laboratory infrastructure, DOE funding, and operates as a major U.S.-based particle physics flagship with similar international scientific collaboration model.
• KM3NeT: KM3NeT is a deep-sea neutrino telescope under construction in the Mediterranean Sea, using seawater as detection medium. It pursues atmospheric, astrophysical, and cosmic-ray neutrino physics at large scale, comparable in ambition and scope to DUNE's neutrino science program.
• IceCube Neutrino Observatory: IceCube is the cubic-kilometer neutrino observatory at the South Pole using Antarctic ice as a detection medium. It operates at similar massive scale to DUNE and pursues complementary neutrino science including atmospheric neutrinos, cosmic-ray interactions, and astrophysical neutrino sources.
• Hyper-Kamiokande: Hyper-Kamiokande is Japan's next-generation water Cherenkov neutrino detector, currently under construction, pursuing the same CP violation and neutrino oscillation science as DUNE with massive scale (260 kton). It is DUNE's primary international competitor for scientific primacy in long-baseline neutrino physics.

Broad incumbents

• ATLAS Experiment (CERN): ATLAS is one of the two major general-purpose particle physics experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. While focused on the energy frontier rather than neutrino physics, it operates as a massive international collaboration with comparable scale (3,000+ members) and CERN infrastructure overlap with DUNE's ProtoDUNE program.

Market position

Strengths6 records

Weaknesses6 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/DUNE
• Facebookfacebook.com/DUNEscience
• Xx.com/DUNEScience

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment