Upgrade plans of the vacuum system of the ESRF

The ESRF has been delivering beams to users for over 12 years. The performance of the storage ring has surpassed the original specifications with respect to many accelerator parameters, such as stored current, emittance, beam stability, beam availability and so on. Along the years, many of its sub-systems have been improved in order to cope with these more demanding conditions. New experimental techniques and arrangements, such as nanofocusing on the samples, call for an important upgrade of the machine and the beamlines. Such an upgrade will also allow the ESRF to stay at the forefront of synchrotron radiation research. A conceptual design report for such ESRF upgrade is under preparation. This paper details the current plans for the upgrade of the storage ring vacuum system.