Diamond Light Source in Harwell, Oxfordshire is the UK's national synchrotron - essentially a giant microscope, which produces light 10 billion times brighter than the sun that is directed into laboratories called beamlines, where research takes place in virtually all fields of science from health to energy research.
The new 4th generation synchrotron will support Diamond's ever-growing userbase of researchers while maintaining the UK's reputation as a world leader in cutting edge science. This is expected to, among many other capabilities, accelerate drug development, offer real-time insights that will further advanced manufacturing and enable further study into improving the performance of next-generation batteries. Diamond Light Source is an example of how investment in critical research infrastructure leads to scientific innovation.
Research conducted at Diamond Light Source in 2020 helped determine the atomic structure of key drug targets of SARS‑CoV‑2 - the virus responsible for COVID-19 - and contributed to understanding the vaccine that saved lives and allowed the UK to safely reopen. Diamond's research facility is currently growing, hosting over 220 UK-based companies and more than 14,000 scientists have used it since operations began in 2007. Its economic and social impacts are estimated to be worth at least £2.6 billion, showing a significant return on the £1.4 billion public investment to date. Patents citing Diamond publications are collectively valued over £10 billion.