On March 28, 2025, the CERN Council approved the admission of Chile as an Associate Member State of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, subject to the completion of accession and ratification processes. The decision followed Chile’s formal application in 2023 and the subsequent evaluation of the country’s scientific and industrial capabilities by a CERN task force.
According to CERN, Chilean universities and research institutions participate in the ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, as well as the SND@LHC, NA64, and SHiP collaborations, with support from ANID. Official cooperation between CERN and Chile dates to 1991.
Associate Member status entitles Chile to representation on the CERN Council, Finance Committee, and Scientific Policy Committee. Chilean nationals will become eligible to apply for CERN staff positions and graduate programs, and Chilean firms will be able to bid on CERN contracts. The country’s annual financial contribution was estimated at approximately 1.7 million Swiss francs.