LEAPS

League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources

News

ALBA to become 4th generation synchrotron

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The Rector Council of the ALBA Synchrotron, counting with the participation of the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Department of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat de Cataluña, chaired by Minister Pedro Duque, has given the green light to start working in 2021 on the ALBA II project, an ambitious program that will transform ALBA into a 4th generation synchrotron facility upgrading the accelerator and other components and building new beamlines.

Nowadays, synchrotron facilities are experiencing an outstanding technological evolution, applying new solutions for the design and construction of accelerators, the development of X-ray detectors and the management of experimental data.

The so-called 4th generation synchrotron facilities, compared to those of the 3rd generation, produce a brighter and more coherent photon beam. When analyzing matter, they provide inaccessible capabilities as of today, in terms of resolution, detection levels and the understanding of chemical and electromagnetic properties. In addition, they offer new technological approaches to solve society’s challenges more efficiently and move towards a sustainable and smart economy in a more efficient health system.

The ALBA II project foresees transforming ALBA Synchrotron from 3rd to 4th generation, through the partial replacement of the accelerator, the construction of new beamlines and the upgrade of some components of the existing beamlines.

The last Rector Council meeting of the ALBA Synchrotron, held yesterday, December 16, 2020, approved the start of the ALBA II preliminary design in 2021 to define the necessary parameters and funds. Once the Rector Council approves the upgrade, it will be a cost-effective process since it will keep the existing infrastructure and most of the accelerator and experimental beamlines, obtaining a large state-of-the-art facility with a reduced investment (half of the cost to build and operate ALBA in its first 8 years). The ALBA II project represents a marginal increase compared to what is necessary to operate and maintain the current infrastructure for a decade.

Minister Duque recalled the importance of this unique scientific & technical facility and, proof of this, reminded that the budget of the Ministry of Science and Innovation for next year include an increase up to 22.9 million euros, 46% more than in 2020.

“The transformation of ALBA into a fourth-generation synchrotron is excellent news for the Catalan research system and for the country as a whole. This ambitious technological upgrade will have an undeniable return for science, the economy and the well-being of the country in terms of cutting-edge science, knowledge transfer and competitiveness”, says Francesc Xavier Grau, Secretary of Universities and Research of the Department of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat of Catalonia. Grau also recalled the co-funding in equal parts by both administrations.

The design and construction of ALBA II will take place between 2021 and 2028, maintaining the current operation of the ALBA Synchrotron. Between 2029 and 2030, there will be a technical shutdown to install and commission the new components, restarting the research activity in 2031.

ALBA II will continue to shed light on the current challenges of science in areas such as health, climate change or energy. Its new capabilities will allow the scientific and industrial community to go one step further and understand even better complex phenomena such as virus infection processes, as well as the search for drugs, vaccines or treatments. It will also play a key role in the development of sustainable agriculture and the preservation of the environment, supporting the search for new fertilizers, water supply systems or the detection of waste such as heavy metals or nanoplastics. Its impact on the development of materials for the storage, conversion and transport of energy will be also fundamental.

Since its inauguration in 2010, the ALBA Synchrotron has become an exceptional tool for science in Spain and internationally, with the performance of more than 1,500 experiments published in more than 1,300 articles in specialized journals. ALBA II represents a leap forward with the aim of remaining at the top level of science, technology and innovation.

The ALBA Synchrotron is a Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure (ICTS) managed by the Consortium for the Construction, Equipment and Operation of the Synchrotron Light Laboratory (CELLS) and co-financed in equal parts by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and Generalitat de Cataluña.

LEAPS Plenary 2020

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More than 170 participants from all Europe met up virtually for the third League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources (LEAPS) Plenary meeting. The event was been hosted by the ALBA Synchrotron, whose director, Caterina Biscari, will continue as Chair of LEAPS in 2021. 

The LEAPS Plenary meeting was held on 24–25 November. The first-day session was attended only by LEAPS members, associate and partners, all reporting on on-going activities and discussing plans for the future. On the second day of the plenary, LEAPS received also guests and stakeholders.

The Plenary started with a welcome by Caterina Biscari, Chair of LEAPS, who gave an update on the LEAPS status and an overview of its perspectives. Then, Michele Svandrlik from Elettra introduced DIGITAL LEAPS, the program being developed in response to the pandemic crisis. It is based on learning from present challenges, aiming at the evolution of those digitalization and automatization tools proven to be essential during the particular difficulties of this year towards key instruments for a resilient, digital and green RI operation, well within the scope of the European Green Deal and missions of Horizon Europe.

Next, all LEAPS Strategy and Working Groups during parallel sessions wrapped-up the activities done since the last plenary meeting and especially planning the future ones. The last part of the first day was devoted to discussions on the activities planned for 2021, presented by the group leaders in plenum, guided and summed up by Helmut Dosch, director of DESY and vice-chair of LEAPS.

On the second day, LEAPS received guests and stakeholders, including representatives from EC and from national funding agencies as well as representatives from European countries not hosting a LEAPS member facility but using it for their research and innovation activities.

The day began with a presentation on the LEAPS status focused on COVID19 times by Caterina Biscari. Next, Antje Vollmer, HZB, introduced IDEA – LEAPS for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Anti-discrimination.

Michele Svandrlik explained the project DIGITAL LEAPS and Rudolf Dimper, ESRF, talked about the LEAPS connection to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). Following him, Elke Plönjes presented LEAPS-INNOV, an H2020 pilot project just granted by the EC, focusing on the implementation of new strategies and activities for long-term partnerships between industry and the European light sources.

Finally, Jan Lüning, HZB, and Ullrich Pietsch, University of Siegen, presented how the European Synchrotron and FEL User Organization (ESUO) has recently been approved as Strategic LEAPS Partner.

After this session led by Helmut Dosch, Caterina Biscari chaired the second one devoted to introducing the new network ARIE (Analytical Research Infrastructures in Europe). ARIE includes more than one hundred user facilities performing research using electrons, magnetic fields, protons, lasers, neutrons, photon sources and ion beams. ARIE inception on a LEAPS initiative is meant to tackle pressing societal challenges, as described in the recently published position papers on Horizon Europe Missions and on Viral and Microbial Threats. ARIE represents the widest and most mature set of analytical research infrastructures in the world. Mirjam van Daalen, PSI, and Harald Reichert, ESRF, talked about the ARIE position papers and ARIE European Green Deal proposal, respectively.

The following session was devoted to the future of LEAPS and was chaired by Lenny Rivkin, PSI and vice-chair of LEAPS. After an overview on LEAPS under Horizon Europe by Johannes Klumpers, European Commission DG R&I, a panel discussion moderated by Gastón García, CMAM/ALBA, was held. Participating in this was Christiaan Zonnevylle, RAITH, Industry supplier, Helmut Schober, ILL and Chair of LENS, Jan Hrušák, ESFRI, Johannes Klumpers, EC DG R&I, Lenny Rivkin, PSI, and Ullrich Pietsch, University of Siegen/ESUO. They made clear that while LEAPS’s plans for the future are well aligned with the EC objectives on RIs, further interchange between LEAPS, EC and all LEAPS stakeholders will be key to help define these plans as their successful developments strongly rely on budget availability.

The meeting ended with an open discussion with all the attendees, also lead by Gastón García, and finally, conclusions were summed up by Caterina Biscari who, thanking all participants for their contribution to the successful event, highlighted how LEAPS voice is now strongly heard in Europe and beyond and how LEAPS facilities have really started to work together under LEAPS umbrella.

LEAPS statement on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Anti-discrimination

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The LEAPS task force, established in October 2020, has presented a statement on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Anti-discrimination as the first step of its activities and is currently filling it with life.

All LEAPS facilities have best practice examples to address the topics of the task force, to strengthen diversity, ensure equity and provide an environment free from discrimination. These activities will be collected and presented in a comprehensive summary and augmented with new ideas. The query of activities and ideas is ongoing, while the intermediate status already shows the multifarious approaches and measures. The next aim is to provide this extensive and growing collection to all LEAPS facilities.

The task force consists of the following persons:
Marek Stankiewicz, Solaris; Ana Anselmo, HZB; Barbara Schramm, HZDR; Cecilia Blasetti, Elettra; Franz Hennies, MAX IV; Deike Pahl,  XFEL; Antje Vollmer, HZB

LEAPS Statement on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Anti-discrimination (IDEA)

The League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources (LEAPS) brings together Synchrotron Radiation and Free Electron Laser user facilities in Europe in a strategic consortium that aims to actively and constructively ensure and promote the quality and impact of fundamental, applied and industrial research for the benefit of European science and society.

As international large-scale research infrastructures where interdisciplinary scientific topics are explored, LEAPS facilities are inherently diverse and dynamic. They are science hubs for communities that share a common goal in pursuing scientific advancements but also bring with them different personal cultural backgrounds. LEAPS provides an organizational structure that gives all scientists the opportunity to flourish and explore their abilities and interests in an inclusive environment.

As a European consortium focusing on scientific excellence, LEAPS is committed to strengthening diversity and is acutely aware of owing its success to the talents, ideas, cooperation, and collective and complementary collaboration of its scientists. The ingredients to this success are respect and fairness, appreciation and openness. Ensuring equity and achieving an inclusive environment, free from discrimination at all levels, is LEAPS’s responsibility.

The prerequisite to scientific and societal prosperity is the creation of an atmosphere of acceptance and trust, embracing all differences stemming from personal ways of life or personal living situations, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, ideologies, biographies, religion, beliefs, disability, age, appearance, and many other aspects. In an increasingly globalised and interdependent world, cohesion matters, diversity helps, and impartiality is indispensable.

LEAPS recognizes that scientific communities, as all communities, are built by individuals informed by their own experience, circumstances, unconscious biases and greater society.

In order to achieve the goals of inclusion, diversity, equity, and anti-discrimination, it is our commitment to provide a range of specific tools, tailored to each of the LEAPS facilities, making them the ideal location for large international, interdisciplinary and intermixed teams to thrive and achieve their highest potential.