The Czech Republic strengthens its position in global laser science by hosting ELI ERIC, as Czech leaders encourage international collaboration driving high-tech innovation and to attract top talent.
Dolní Břežany, Czech Republic – 31 October 2024
In a visit underscoring the Czech Republic’s commitment to high-tech innovation, President Petr Pavel, accompanied by Minister of Education, Youth, and Sports Mikuláš Bek, toured the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) near Prague. This world-class facility, the largest and most advanced high-power laser infrastructure globally, places the Czech Republic at the forefront of European scientific advancement.
The Extreme Light Infrastructure, a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), plays a vital role in advancing research across materials science, astrophysics, and other fields. As an ESFRI flagship project, ELI enhances Europe’s global leadership in laser and optics research while showcasing the Czech Republic’s critical role as host to this strategic asset.
During the visit, President Pavel and Minister Bek explored ELI’s advanced laboratories, including the L3 HAPLS laser and experimental halls, where scientists lead pioneering research in laser-matter interactions.
“ELI is a platform for scientific excellence, driving innovation and attracting top talent,” says Allen Weeks, Director General of ELI ERIC. “President Pavel’s visit highlights the importance of this facility for the Czech Republic and for European competitiveness in this essential field.”
Minister Bek appreciated the social and technological contribution of ELI and said, “The ELI Beamlines superlaser is an ambitious project of Czech research and I am glad that we could present this world-class facility to our President. The results of the experiments on one of the most powerful laser facilities in the world will be useful, for example, in medical imaging and diagnostics, in testing of new materials or in X-ray optics.”
By opening its doors to researchers worldwide, ELI ERIC not only facilitates international collaboration. It is also developing a new generation of scientific leaders in the field.
President Pavel’s visit signals the Czech Republic’s dedication to this crucial infrastructure, solidifying its position in the future of high-tech research and talent development.
The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI ERIC) is an international user facility dedicated to multi-disciplinary science and research applications. ELI ERIC operates as a single multi-site organisation with complementary facilities specialised in different fields of research with extreme light: ELI Beamlines in the Czech Republic, focused on high-energy beams, and ELI ALPS in Hungary, specialising in attosecond light pulses. The ELI Nuclear Physics in Măgurele (Romania) is expected to join the Consortium and expand ELI’s capabilities.
The L3 HAPLS laser system represents a new generation of diode-pumped laser systems, the most cutting-edge method for laser pumping today. Developed and constructed in collaboration with scientists from ELI Beamlines and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the USA, the system has already broken several world records, including housing the world’s brightest laser diodes and the largest optical vacuum compressor ever designed and manufactured in the Czech Republic. Its uses include compact laser-driven particle acceleration for fusion energy as well as novel medical techniques and the generation of short-pulse X-ray radiation for high resolution microscopy in material and medical research.
