SLS 2.0 will operate in the manner which has succeeded for SLS. The SLS has been an open-access, peer-review-based user facility (see the PSI DUO website https://duo.psi.ch/duo/) and follows an open-data policy. As well as free-of-charge, open-access experiments (approximately 4000 user visits per year), proprietary (costed) research is carried out at several beamlines, most notably PX and Materials Science, through SLS Techno-Transfer AG (SLS-TT AG). The process leading to beamtime allocation includes checks for safety and ethics.
The scientific usage of SLS 2.0 will continue to cater to the well-established community of the existing machine in all the scientific fields, but should also attract new users across a broad spectrum of disciplines, particularly in the life sciences and imaging, be it for biological samples, industrial components, or cultural artefacts, to name just three examples. Access will continue to be through bi-annual external peer-reviewed proposal submissions. Typically, beamtimes occur within continuous 24-hour operations six days per week, interspersed every five to six weeks with one- or two-day shutdowns for machine maintenance.