Australian Synchrotron Project BR-GHT Detailed Business Case
A synchrotron is a large scientific instrument which uses hyper-concentrated beams of light to investigate the inner structure of materials. A synchrotron’s capability and capacity is comprised of ‘beamlines’ which operate as standalone laboratories with different functions and abilities.
Business Case for investment in upgrade of the Australian Synchrotron
Client: Victorian Department of Industry & ANSTO
Services Primary: Business Case Development
Services Secondary: Economic / Financial Analysis
Sector: Science & Research
Background
The Australian Synchrotron in Clayton is among Australia’s most valuable and effective scientific instruments. It’s diagnostic features are directed at solving a range of scientific challenges across industry sectors, including pharmaceutical development, materials science, applied chemistry, electronics, minerals sciences, applied physics and energy research.
The objective of the project was to obtain Victorian government and wider industry support for a proposal to increase the number and range of individual beamlines to expand its research potential.
Our Role
Aalto was engaged by the Victorian Government (and then novated to the Commonwealth nuclear science agency, ANSTO) to prepare a business case and financial and economic analysis of a proposal to add new beamlines to the Australian Synchrotron, known as Project BR-GHT (Bright). The driver was to enhance the capability and the capacity of the Australian Synchrotron to meet emerging and evolving challenges of congestion/long wait times, lagging scientific competitiveness and other emerging risks to its operations.
Over a duration of four months, the project involved detailed engagement with Synchrotron management and users, as well as current and future potential customers to understand the limits of its current capabilities and how Project BR-GHT would deliver enduring benefits which could be measured, counted and expressed in economic terms. The project delivered a preliminary and then a final business case, for consideration of Synchrotron management (ANSTO) and the Victorian Government.
Outcomes and Insights
The business case was presented to management and to government agency representatives, and confirmed:
The range of scientific, social and economic benefits that would be delivered by the project
Risks in delivery and how these could be mitigated
A recommended approach for industry engagement and procurement of goods and services to deliver the project and its outcomes
How the project would perform in both a financial and economic terms over a 30 year period from the decision to proceed, with contributions from government, local industry and academia and overseas partners and users.
Following completion of the business case, the funding for the project was approved, and the six new project BR-GHT beamlines have been successively designed, installed, tested and operated, over a period of seven years.
The value and volume of science delivered by the Australian Synchrotron continues to grow, with all beamlines oversubscribed by Australian and overseas scientists for the foreseeable future.