The upgrade of ALBA within the ALBA II project will transform the facility to a 4th generation synchrotron light source, which will provide a wide range of new analytical tools, innovative methodologies, and improved data management, handling, and analysis capabilities to you. ALBA will be an outstanding photon source which enables you to better understand the structure and behavior of your sample under realistic conditions, independent if you are focused on basic or applied sciences. In a broader sense, ALBA II keeps ALBA on the forefront of user facilities and at the same time helps to train and educate not only researchers but also provides new exciting job and training possibilities in a wide range of engineering disciplines and other highly qualified professions.
It is a long-term project, which has started the planning phase in 2021, and is currently in the stage of securing the remaining funding. The "Enabling ALBA II technologies" project is the first funded step, based on already granted Next Generation EU funds (7.5M€), for prototyping the new accelerators' systems and creating a nano-positioning laboratory. Also granted with Next Generation EU funds, the 14th ALBA beamline, Surface Structure and Spectroscopy at 1 bar (S3bar), was started in 2022 and will be the first beamline fully optimized for the upgraded source. Finally, an adjacent plot to host new long beamlines has been assigned.
ALBA II includes the replacement of the storage ring, the construction of three new beamlines, the upgrade of the existing beamlines, the integration of a transmission electron and scanning probe microscopy platform, the extension of data infrastructures and data analysis capabilities, extension of the building complex which hosts all facilities, and the increase in staff.
While maintaining ALBA operation, the design and construction is expected to cover the period 2022-2029. The shutdown to install the new components is expected in 2030 with commissioning and first experiments in 2031; the restart of full operation is planned for 2032.
