Elettra 2.0: India Commits Over €7 Million for Italian Synchrotron Beamlines from 2026-27

The news

India has committed more than €7 million over five years from 2026-27 as a co-partner in the Elettra 2.0 programme at Italy's Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, Union Minister of State for Science & Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh announced on November 13, 2026. The investment will support the redevelopment of research beamlines, research infrastructure and human resource capacity, benefiting researchers from India and other countries in fields such as Chemistry, Physics, Advanced Materials and Structural Biology.

The commitment builds on more than 25 years of scientific collaboration between Indian research groups and the Italian facility. Indian scientists have conducted experiments at Elettra since 1998, and India is currently the second-largest user of the facility after Italy. Elettra has received more than 1,100 experimental proposals from Indian groups, placing India second after Italy, which submitted 54,140 proposals, and ahead of France with 1,098 proposals.

Under Elettra 2.0, the existing India-centric XRD2 and Xpress beamlines will be decommissioned and replaced by two new beamlines: a microfocus beamline for macromolecular crystallography called micro-XRD (μXRD), and a beamline for high-pressure diffraction called Xpress Superbend (Xpress-SB). The Department of Science and Technology had earlier contributed approximately ₹22 crore towards the construction of the existing beamlines, which were jointly inaugurated on October 20, 2016. Around 50-60 Indian scientists visit Trieste annually to conduct experiments at the facility.

What is a synchrotron and how does Elettra work?

A synchrotron is a large circular particle accelerator that produces extremely intense beams of light, known as synchrotron radiation, by accelerating electrons to near-light speed and bending their path with powerful magnets. This light covers a broad spectrum from infrared to X-rays and is channelled into workstations called beamlines, where scientists use it to study the atomic and molecular structure of materials. Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, located near Trieste in north-eastern Italy, is a third-generation synchrotron light source that began user operations in 1994. The Elettra 2.0 programme is a major upgrade of the machine's storage ring to transform it into a fourth-generation, diffraction-limited source with dramatically higher brightness and coherence, enabling finer resolution and faster experiments.

How has India supported researcher access so far?

Under the Indo-Italian Executive Programme of Cooperation (EPOC) 2022-2024, DST sanctioned ₹2 crore over three years to support visits by 50 Indian researchers annually, with 25 visits each semester, for conducting experiments at Elettra beamlines. EPOC 2025-2027 includes a proposal to support Indian researchers with a proposed allocation of ₹1.5 crore over three years; this proposed allocation has not yet been sanctioned.

What will the upgraded beamlines achieve?

The planned replacements—micro-XRD for macromolecular crystallography and Xpress Superbend for high-pressure diffraction—offer enhanced capabilities compared to the existing XRD2 and Xpress beamlines. These upgrades are expected to expand research opportunities in advanced materials, structural biology and other specialised areas for Indian and international scientists.