A two year project has begun at the Canadian Light Source on the USask campus to replace its linear accelerator, which is what speeds up electrons to produce a beam of light researchers use to study materials at a molecular or cellular level. The CLS is used by over 1,000 scientists a year from across Canada and around the world in their research. The new linear accelerator will replace the remaining infrastructure left from the early days of the CLS.

Machine Director, Mark Boland, says, “It will substantially improve reliability and will keep our facility competitive with the world’ best synchrotrons for the next decade and beyond.” The new equipment is expected to be delivered by the end of 2023, and then in 2024 there will be a six-month long shutdown in order to remove the old accelerator and its operating systems, and then install the new system. A news release from the CLS says it is one of the largest science projects in Canada’s history.