In March 2022, Photon Factory celebrated the 40th anniversary of its first beam. Over these 40 years, it has led numerous developments in synchrotron radiation technology, achieved significant results across various fields, and produced a multitude of skilled personnel, thus driving synchrotron radiation science on a global scale. To continue fulfilling its mission as an academic facility, we are proceeding with plans for a new synchrotron radiation facility to succeed Photon Factory. To facilitate these discussions, KEK established the Photon Factory Planning Promotion Committee in October 2021.

Currently, as a candidate for the new synchrotron radiation facility, we are examining the "Hybrid Ring," which combines a long-pulse superconducting linear accelerator and a storage ring. At the end of 2021, we published a concept design paper on this Hybrid Ring. The Hybrid Ring enables the simultaneous use of two types of beams: a conventional storage ring synchrotron radiation beam and a single-pass beam obtained by passing an ultra-high-performance electron beam from the injector only once. As a step toward realizing this future plan, we have been considering the development of a "Multifunctional Research and Development Beamline" that allows simultaneous use of both beams, and we have decided to construct this new beamline at BL-11 of PF. With this innovative new beamline, we will advance development research and human resource training for the future.