ELI ERIC officially established by the European Commission

The European Commission has taken a long-anticipated decision to establish the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC).

The ELI facilities make up the largest, multi-site laser facility in the world. The newly formed ELI ERIC is tasked with enabling scientists to access the state-of-the-art lasers. Access is open for scientists from anywhere, based on proposals evaluated by an independent panel. 

The establishment of ELI ERIC opens the door for researchers, industry and countries to gain access to the world’s largest collection of super powerful and ultra-fast lasers for science.

"This decision means the lab’s sites can now operate legally together, as one organisation",  says Allen Weeks, Director General of the ELI Delivery Consortium. "The decision comes at an important time since the transition to operations is already happening, and the interest from scientists is intense." 

The ELI ERIC facilities are ELI-Beamlines in Dolní Břežany in the Czech Republic and the ELI-ALPS facility in Szeged, Hungary. They are the first large-scale science labs built in Europe’s newest member states, at a cost of €300 million - each - over the last six years, using European structural funds. They already employ 600 scientists, engineers, and support staff from the host countries, the region and abroad.

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