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National neutron beam facilities produce social and economic benefits worth at least double the investment. Canadians are leaders in many areas of materials research that require neutron beams—from innovation in energy storge and clean nuclear power generation, to understanding biomaterials in the human body and molecular causes of disease, to elucidating the exotic properties of quantum materials as a basis for next-generation devices.
The Canadian neutron beam user community gathered in February 2024 to define priorities and establish a path forward for Canada to invest in materials research with neutron beams in order to realize such outstanding returns—and to continue Canadian leadership in this field over the next 10 years.
Attesting to the strength of Canada’s leadership in this field, leaders from nine of the brightest neutron sources in the U.S. and Europe came to this gathering at McMaster University to present their facilities and vie for a partnership with Canada.
At this event, Canadian researchers deliberated and built consensus around the Canadian Neutron Long-Range Plan (LRP) for 2025 to 2035. The LRP process, now nearly complete, is a consultative process to develop a plan to implement the national neutron strategy to rebuild Canadian capacity for materials research with neutron beams.
Attendees discussed the merits of partnering with the nine foreign neutron sources, as well as the value of initiatives to build and operate domestic capabilities and develop new neutron sources for the long term.
The meeting revealed broad support for the overarching recommendation of the LRP Panel for a national program for infrastructure for research and development with neutron beams—or, put simply, for a “national neutron beam program.” This program would encompass Canada’s foreign partnerships, domestic capabilities, and development of new neutron sources.
The LRP, to be released in the coming months, calls on the federal government to allocate funds reaching about $25M/year for a national neutron beam program to be managed by Neutrons Canada. The expected scale and complexity of this program will place Neutrons Canada within among Canada’s portfolio of Major Research Facilities.
The February 2024 gathering was the final consultation in a two-year consultation process for the LRP, which in turn built on several years of consultations leading to the development of the national neutron strategy and the creation of Neutrons Canada.
The LRP process began under the leadership of the Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering and has been generously supported by Neutrons Canada, the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source (U.K.), the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, McMaster University, and NSERC.
