Staff at the Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire have renewed their campaign to secure a future for the centre, which failed in its bid to host the United Kingdom's new synchrotron.
Daresbury scientists hope to enhance the output of their existing synchrotron for medical and commercial applications before the new facility comes into service in seven years.
Also in northwest England, bids are being taken for a share of the Pounds 25 million fund earmarked by the government for science projects in the region - among them development work on the next-generation internet, dubbed the "grid".