There has been a surge of excitement since Australia signed a landmark agreement with the United States last month to expand cooperation on critical minerals and rare earth elements. These materials are essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and clean energy technologies. The deal promises to help Australia move beyond simply digging and shipping raw materials. Instead, the nation aims to refine and manufacture advanced, high-value products domestically.
However, just as Australia is poised to play a larger role in global clean-tech supply chains, the science facilities that underpin these ambitions face significant threats. The Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne and the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering at Lucas Heights in Sydney are among the country’s most crucial scientific infrastructures. Operated by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), these facilities house several vital instruments, including infrared microscopy and terahertz/far-infrared beamlines, which allow researchers to probe materials at the atomic scale.
Impact on Scientific Innovation
These facilities enable groundbreaking research, from developing advanced batteries and pharmaceuticals to exploring green hydrogen production and new materials for defense and aerospace. They also allow researchers to study the chemistry of living cells and tissues in real time, develop lightweight fire-fighting suits, explore new cancer therapies, and combat antibiotic resistance. Notably, these tools contributed to research that led to the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for metal-organic frameworks, materials invented in Melbourne that can capture carbon dioxide or filter PFAS contaminants from water.
Hundreds of projects and numerous PhD students and early-career researchers rely on these instruments for training and discovery. In essence, these facilities do not just make great science possible; they make it possible in Australia.
Proposed Cuts: A False Economy?
Despite their importance, ANSTO has recently proposed a series of “sustainability measures”—essentially funding cuts—for the Australian Synchrotron and Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, as first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald. ANSTO argues that these cuts are necessary to “support financial stability for the long term.” The proposed cuts include the closure of world-leading experimental beamlines that continue to facilitate significant scientific advancements. Such reductions would erode the very foundation of Australia’s scientific and industrial capability.
The cuts would also terminate a program that allows Australian scientists to use overseas synchrotron beamlines when local facilities cannot meet specific experimental needs. A final decision on the proposed cuts is expected in December, raising concerns about a potential false economy: saving little in the short term but undermining future innovation and growth.
The Global Context and Future Implications
The recent US–Australia critical minerals partnership underscores the importance of these scientific facilities for the future economy. Processing and refining critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earths require a deep understanding of how materials behave under complex conditions—insights that neutron and X-ray scattering experiments can provide.
To achieve sustainable progress, Australia must innovate in “clean manufacturing,” developing processes that reduce emissions and waste, much like the efforts to create green steel and green hydrogen. These large-scale research facilities will be essential for making that transition a reality.
Globally, many major economies recognize large-scale research infrastructure as a national asset. Europe is investing billions in the European Spallation Source, a major neutron scattering research facility, which will initially house 15 beamlines. Meanwhile, the US, Japan, and the United Kingdom continue to expand their neutron and synchrotron capabilities. Australia, with a much smaller budget, consistently produces world-class science and innovation outcomes. However, allowing these cuts to proceed risks losing the nation’s competitive position and the next generation of scientific talent these facilities train and inspire.
A Call for Leadership and Collaboration
ANSTO’s neutron and synchrotron facilities are among the best-run and most productive parts of Australia’s research system. Their reported “deficits” stem not from mismanagement within these programs but from broader financial pressures elsewhere at ANSTO. It would be a grave mistake to allow short-term accounting to jeopardize long-term national capability.
Scattering instruments are “enablers across disciplines,” accelerating innovation and delivering both scientific and commercial returns. To lead in fields such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and health technology, Australia must maintain robust national research infrastructure.
Scientists are ready to find ways to save these irreplaceable facilities. Many are already exploring cost-sharing models with universities and industry, as well as mail-in and remote-access operations to cut travel costs and sponsorship approaches. Scientists are prepared to make changes to protect the foundations of national science capability. However, ANSTO and the Australian government will need to do their part too.
The decision on these proposed cuts will not only shape the future of Australian science but also its role on the global stage. As the world increasingly looks to sustainable solutions, Australia’s ability to innovate and lead in scientific research is more crucial than ever.
