The pandemic makes it difficult, but does not paralyze all projects. One of the main assets to position Catalonia as a scientific and technological hub is the Alba Synchrotron, an infrastructure inaugurated in 2010 that now needs to be renewed to avoid falling behind and to remain at the forefront of research. In this sense, it is great news that the Alba governing council, chaired by Minister Pedro Duque, has approved the start of the process to build a new generation synchrotron that will become operational within ten years.
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Fourth-generation synchrotrons, compared to the current third-generation one, produce a photon beam with much higher brilliance and greater coherence properties, which enables analysis capabilities of matter currently inaccessible. The goal is for the renovated particle accelerator to better resolve the new challenges posed by science and society, in areas such as health, sustainability, climate change, and energy. It is expected, for example, that Alba II will contribute to the development of new drugs and vaccines to fight pandemics, and that it will be key in the development of sustainable agriculture and in the preservation of the environment.
Since its launch, 1,500 experiments have been carried out at Alba by scientists from all over the world.
The synchrotron's governing council, a scientific infrastructure co-financed equally by the Generalitat and the Ministry of Science and Innovation, has given the green light for the pre-design of Alba II and its financial plan to be carried out in 2021. The idea is to partially replace the accelerator, renew some components, and build new experimental lines. Since a good part of the current infrastructure will be preserved, in economic terms, the investment cost is considered to be reduced, estimated at half of what it cost to build Alba I.
The calendar foresees that the design and construction phase will last between 2021 and 2028. Throughout this period, the current synchrotron will continue to operate. It will not be until 2029-2030 that a technical shutdown will be carried out to install the new components and restart research activity in 2031.
To face this decision, the General State Budgets of 2021 contemplate a 46% increase in funding for Alba, with an allocation of 22.9 million euros.
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