Important Update: Strategic Adjustment of the ESRF Programme

The ESRF has been successfully operating for more than five years with the new EBS source. Despite the annual increases in operation budget granted by its Council, like many international research organisations the ESRF is navigating a complex economic landscape that requires strategic budgetary choices to safeguard our investment capacity and maintain high-level operations and world-class innovation. The ESRF Council has assessed the implications of these challenges on our future investment capacity within the operation budget and identified corrective measures.

A resolution was unanimously adopted which, among other measures, mandated a reduction in the facility’s annual operation costs by 5 M€, including the suspension of two beamlines from the public user programme along with a closure of the ESRF for seven consecutive days per year. In the same resolution, the Council also granted the ESRF an exceptional contribution to reinstate vital projects that had been frozen, including the construction of a nano-imaging beamline for life sciences as well as projects to secure and streamline the accelerators operation and upgrade the data infrastructure.

To implement Council’s decision, the Science Advisory Committee (SAC) was tasked with identifying which instruments could be withheld while ensuring minimal impact to the ESRF science programme and the broader user community. Following an exhaustive analysis, the SAC recommended the suspension of the ID06-LVP (Large Volume Press) and the ID24-ED (Energy Dispersive) beamlines from the public user programme, and the reduction of the available beamtime by 50% on the ID28 and ID30A-3 (MASSIF-3) beamlines. These recommendations have been endorsed by the Council and will be phased in over the coming months to allow for a transition period.

The timeline for implementation begins in March 2026, when ID28 will operate at half-capacity with a specific focus on X-ray inelastic scattering studies. During the second half of 2026, we will begin the progressive reduction of capacity at both ID06-LVP and ID30A-3, while ID24-ED is scheduled to remain operational until the end of February 2027.

We are deeply aware that these measures are disappointing for those of you whose research will be affected by these unavoidable measures. Be assured that the management and the entire ESRF staff are fully committed to maintaining the highest quality of service and continuing the development of cutting-edge synchrotron radiation techniques to support your research with the best instruments worldwide, as we have always done.

ESRF Management