Diamond marks the opening of the Diamond Extension Building

A major new facility has opened at Diamond, marking a significant step forward in the delivery of the Diamond-II project, the transformative upgrade that will reshape the future of UK synchrotron science.  

Staff on the project board, contractors, board members and representatives from Harwell campus gathered together at the Diamond Extension Building for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially mark the event, recognising the work that has gone into the building’s construction.  

Diamond CEO Gianluigi Botton and Chair of the Board Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz were delighted to welcome the assembled guests and thanked the many teams involved in delivering the project. They congratulated everyone on a job well done, recognising the collaboration and dedication that made the completion of the new building possible. 

L-R: Diamond CEO Professor Gianluigi Botton, Chair of the Board Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz and STFC Executive Director Dr Roger Eccleston.

Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz said: “The Diamond-II project is absolutely vital for the future of synchrotron science in the UK. Thank you to each and every one of you for this particular project and for all the work you are doing on the upgrade. Diamond-II is the future; it is what so many young scientists and others will be thanking us for in the years to come.” 

L-R: Diamond Technical Director Richard Walker, Professor Michael Fitzpatrick (non-executive board director), Diamond CEO Professor Gianluigi Botton, Dr Petra Oyston (non-executive board director) and Chair of the Board Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz.

CEO Gianluigi Botton said: “This is a major milestone and one of the first for the Diamond-II project. It is also a first externally visible outcome of everything that has been accomplished so far. Today is a celebration of the effort and dedication that so many people at Diamond have contributed over several years to bring this building to completion. 

“This building is the latest addition to the Harwell Campus and marks that continuous investment in the campus is important, not just for Diamond but to illustrate that this is a place for innovation. We need this kind of investment to make sure that the UK is a science superpower, that we have this building and all the facilities on campus to make sure we do discovery research, we improve lives, and we drive growth.” 

The completed Diamond Extension Building (DEB) is a purpose-built facility which will provide critical space for assembly of components of the new machine and components of beamlines, storage, workshops and offices required for the Diamond-II upgrade. 

Technical director Richard Walker leading a tour of the DEB.

The upgrade is a £500 million investment in a next-generation machine and enhanced beamlines, delivering major advances in brightness, coherence and performance. Together, these improvements will enable faster, more detailed discoveries across the physical and life sciences. 

With the DEB now operational, work can accelerate on the assembly and testing required ahead of the dark period, the scheduled shutdown when the old machine will be removed and the new machine installed. This period will begin at the end of 2027 and will culminate in a next-generation synchrotron that will transform experimental capabilities for users from across academia and industry. 

The DEB’s completion demonstrates how investment in infrastructure underpins cutting-edge science and supports the delivery of the new machine, enabling even more world-leading research and innovation in the years ahead. 

The Diamond-II project has benefited from UK government investment as part of the UK Research and Innovation Infrastructure Fund. The fund supports the facilities, equipment and resources that are essential for researchers and innovators to do ground-breaking work and helps to create a long-term pipeline of research and innovation infrastructure investment priorities for the next 10 to 20 years.