Transforming ALBA into a 4th generation light source
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ALBA II will be an outstanding photon source based on the upgrade of the current ALBA Synchrotron. It will be a 4th generation synchrotron facility, which will provide new analytical capabilities to the scientific and industrial community to better understand and solve current and future societal challenges. It is a long-term project, whose design was started in 2021, and is in the stage of securing funding. The "Enabling ALBA II technologies" proposal is its first step, based on already granted Next Generation EU funds (7.5M€), for prototyping the new accelerators' systems and creating a nano-positioning laboratory. The 14th ALBA beamline, Surface Structure and Spectroscopy at 1 bar, started in 2022 and also granted with Next Generation EU funds, is the first beamline fully optimized for the future source. ALBA II will be crucial in areas like health, climate change or energy, going one step further to better understand complex phenomena such as virus infection processes, the search for drugs, vaccines or treatments. It could also be of great help for sustainable agriculture and the preservation of the environment as well as to support the development of materials for the storage, conversion and transport of energy. The ALBA II upgrade will offer the users new research capabilities, now unreachable in terms of resolution or detection levels. It will also expand the scientific and industrial communities, which have considerably increased their demand of using synchrotron light research over the past years. And it will extend the life of the facility and contributing to the creation of highly-skilled R&D jobs. The design and construction is expected to cover the period 2022-2029, while maintaining ALBA operation. The technical shutdown to install the new components is expected in 2030, the commissioning and first experiments in 2031, to restart the regular operation in 2032. ALBA II includes the replacement of the storage ring, the construction of three new beamlines, the renovation of the existing beamlines, the extension of data infrastructures and the increase in staff. The project is highly a cost-effective process since it keeps the existing infrastructure, the injector system and all experimental beamlines. Additional informationPreliminary design of the new ALBA beamlines (21/09/2023) Long Beamlines Beamline inside the existing building Other relevant documents and information
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