Underground nuclear astrophysics at the Dresden Felsenkeller

Favored by the low background underground, accelerator-based exper- iments are an important tool to study nuclear astrophysics reactions involving stable charged particles. This technique has been used with great success at the 0.4 MV LUNA accelerator in the Gran Sasso lab- oratory in Italy. However, the nuclear reactions of helium and car- bon burning and the neutron source reactions for the astrophysical s-process require higher beam energies, as well as the continuation of solar fusion studies. As a result, NuPECC strongly recommended the installation of one or more higher-energy underground accelerators. Such a project is underway in Dresden. A 5MV Pelletron accelerator is currently being refurbished by installing an ion source on the high voltage terminal, enabling intensive helium beams. The preparation of the underground site is funded, and the civil engineering project is being updated. The science case, operational strategy and project status will be reported.