The ELI Beamlines Facility is a leading laser research center and a key part of the Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC, a pan-European research initiative that hosts the world’s most intense lasers. ELI provides unique tools to support scientific excellence across Europe.
At ELI Beamlines, four state-of-the-art high-power femtosecond laser systems have been developed and are in operation, achieving unprecedented intensity levels. The facility offers its users unique femtosecond sources of X-rays and accelerated particles, enabling groundbreaking research not only in physics and materials science but also in life sciences, laboratory astrophysics, and chemistry, with strong potential for practical applications.
Currently, several of the primary laser beamlines are fully operational, while others are undergoing expansion and upgrades to reach their full performance and maximize availability. Additional laser beamlines are in the commissioning phase, and new cutting-edge laser sources are actively being designed and developed.
ELI Beamlines is built on the expertise of a diverse team of 350 researchers, engineers, and professionals from more than 28 countries, driving forward innovation at the frontier of laser science.
What is ELI ERIC?
ELI ERIC, or the Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC, is a specialized European legal entity designed to support the establishment and operation of cutting-edge research infrastructures of European interest. ERICs are international research organizations formed by member states and international institutions to collaborate on advanced scientific endeavors.
As its primary statutory mission, ELI ERIC is responsible for providing access to the ELI Facilities as a unified international organization, ensuring a seamless governance and management structure for the global scientific community.
The Czech Republic serves as the host country for the ELI ERIC statutory seat, located in Dolní Břežany, just south of Prague, at the ELI Beamlines facility. A second facility, ELI-ALPS, is based in Szeged, Hungary. Together with Italy and Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Hungary are the founding members of ELI ERIC, while Germany and Bulgaria participate as founding observers.
In addition to these existing sites, a third ELI facility is currently under development in Romania, focusing on nuclear photonics, and is expected to complement the ELI ERIC network in the future.
For more details, visit the ELI ERIC websites.
What is the ELI Beamlines Facility?
ELI Beamlines is a state-of-the-art European research facility dedicated to fundamental research, operating four ultra-intense laser systems, each with unique characteristics and parameters.
The facility features five experimental halls and an advanced biology laboratory, equipped with end stations that support a broad spectrum of scientific research. ELI Beamlines attracts both internal and external researchers across diverse fields, including biology, medicine, physics, chemistry, materials engineering, space research, and nanotechnology.
Thanks to its high-power, ultra-fast laser pulses, ELI Beamlines enables scientists to probe deep into the internal structure of molecules, observe biological processes such as the behavior of viruses and microorganisms, explore the principles of proton therapy, develop new materials, study space environments, and investigate nuclear waste acceleration techniques.
ELI Beamlines is part of the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) initiative, a pan-European research infrastructure, and is included in the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) roadmap. The broader ELI research network includes facilities in the Czech Republic, Hungary (ELI-ALPS), and Romania (ELI-NP).
ELI Beamlines as a User Facility
ELI Beamlines serves as a user center, operating its unique ultra-intense laser systems and experimental facilities primarily for research teams from universities, research institutions, and private companies. Scientists can apply for user access, and once approved, they are granted dedicated research time at the required facility. Visiting research teams conduct their cutting-edge experiments on-site at ELI Beamlines.
In addition to hosting external researchers, ELI Beamlines is home to a strong internal research community, with over 150 in-house scientists actively advancing laser-driven research.
For more information on user research opportunities, watch our dedicated video for users.
Commitment to Gender Equality
ELI Beamlines is committed to gender equality, a core principle upheld by its leadership and embraced by all ELI employees.
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Ultrahigh Intensity Interaction
MULTIDISCIPLINARY INFRASTRUCTURE
The main objective of the ELI Beamlines Center is to become a truly multidisciplinary, user-oriented infrastructure for carrying out revolutionary scientific experiments and applications in various fields, including physics and astrophysics, chemistry, biology, material science, medicine, etc., by combining advanced synchronized short laser pulses with ultra-high intensity and auxiliary particle sources or X-ray.
TOP SECONDARY RESOURCES
The ELI Beamlines Center provides research capabilities with a wide range of ultra high-intensity lasers excited by high-end lasers. These secondary sources, especially those based on completely new concepts, produce pulses of radiation of the highest intensity and quality of the beam, including electromagnetic radiation in a wide range and charged particles such as electrons, protons and ions. Therefore, a wide range of new applications can be expected.
BENEFITS FOR SOCIETY
As a European research infrastructure, ELI Beamlines is strengthening Europe’s position in world laser research and creating new opportunities for European industry.
Applied research at the ELI Beamlines facility covers areas ranging from improving cancer treatment, medical imaging, fast electronics and aging of nuclear reactor materials to the development of new nuclear waste treatment methods.
