Konstantin Sukharnikov Scientific instrumentation

A hobby. An independent overview compiled from public sources by a science and space enthusiast. I am not involved in these missions or facilities; my own work is detector electronics at European XFEL. My projects →

Facility · Synchrotrons

SPring-8 / SPring-8-II

8 GeV storage ring with 57 beamlines, to become SPring-8-II (fourth generation, five-bend achromat, about 100 times brighter)

Status
Operating
Location
Harima (Hyogo Prefecture), Japan
Operator
RIKEN, JASRI
Next
≈ Oct 2027 SPring-8 stops for about a year to install SPring-8-II (second half of Japanese fiscal year 2027)

Summary

SPring-8 is an 8 GeV ring with 57 beamlines, in general user operation since October 1997; the X-ray laser SACLA is on the same site. SPring-8-II is an upgrade to world-leading level: about 100 times the present brightness, with a five-bend lattice; the work takes five years, including a shutdown of about one year (MEXT, 29 September 2026). The first new SPring-8-II beamline is BL34XU for hydrogen energy research (fuel cells and electrolysis under operating conditions).

Now as of 9 Nov 2026

According to the MEXT document of 29 September 2026, SPring-8-II will be built over five years, including a shutdown of about one year from the second half of Japanese fiscal year 2027 (so not before October 2027), and general use of SPring-8-II will begin during fiscal year 2029 (April 2029 to March 2030). The request for fiscal year 2027 is ¥9 billion for SPring-8-II and ¥984 million for measures during the shutdown: a single access point to other quantum-beam facilities, and keeping operating time at SPring-8/SACLA and J-PARC (MEXT). The month of the shutdown has not been specified: some secondary sources say "from August 2027", which could not be confirmed in the primary source.

Key dates

  1. Oct 1997SPring-8 general user operation beginsdone
  2. ≈ Oct 2027SPring-8 shuts down (about one year)mext plan (second half of fiscal year 2027)
  3. 2029–2030SPring-8-II general use begins (fiscal year 2029)mext plan

Timeline

  1. 29 Sep 2026MEXT: SPring-8-II schedule and budget request for fiscal year 2027 — MEXT
  2. 14 Jul 2026"Integrated Innovation Strategy 2026" (cabinet decision): SPring-8-II by fiscal year 2029 — quoted in the MEXT document