The Cavity-String beamline and Fundamental Power Couplers were assembled in the ISO4 cleanroom jointly with STFC and CERN staff. After the successful leak check of the beam vacuum, RF checks and the final alignment, the cavity string was moved to the cryostat assembly area and is currently being equipped with the tuning system and RF lines. In parallel, the cryostat assembly process has started with the top plate assembled on the special lifting device to prepare the transfer of the string from the clean-room trolley onto the top plate.

The next step of the cryostating requires the cryogenic lines, which have incurred significant delays in industry, as these items call for long lead procurement of specific material and bellows. A joint mitigation effort between CERN and STFC, with some special parts provided by CERN, was put in place in Q4-2022. After the delivery and corrective actions implemented at Daresbury lab, with the help of CERN for certain non-conformities, the cryogenic lines were successfully tested to the specified pressure and leak checked on 25-Apr 2023. Reaching this important milestone has allowed the project to move to the next phase of the cryostating. The cryomodule build is expected to be completed in mid-August and - after testing – is expected to arrive at CERN in mid-September. Cold test validation will then be performed at the SM18 facility, followed by the installation in to the SPS during the year end technical stop in 2023/24, in time for test with proton beams during 2024.