The radioactive ion beam project SPES at LNL

At LNL it has been proposed an Advanced Exotic Ion Beam facility, that will allow a frontier program in RIBs Physics. In particular beams of neutron rich nuclei in the medium heavy mass region will be produced. The structure properties of these nuclei are interesting also for the understanding of the astrophysical problem of the stellar nucleosyntesis. We illustrate here the concept of the SPES facility, and how this proposal is interconnected with the longer term European project EURISOL. The first part of the SPES facility is presently under construction.