A major upgrade to the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) has equipped scientists with innovative tools to address health issues, environmental problems, energy demands and other global challenges, according to speakers at the Science|Business Annual Conference. Having increased the performance of X-ray beams by a factor of 100 in terms of brilliance and coherence, the fourth-generation synchrotron, ESRF-EBS (Extremely Brilliant Source), is opening up access to previously unattainable data.