ELI ALPS (Extreme Light Infrastructure Attosecond Light Pulse Source) was built in Szeged in the framework of a phased large project funded by the European Union and the Government of Hungary. The aim was to establish a research infrastructure that will enable basic research not only in physics but also in other natural sciences, using high-intensity lasers and associated secondary light and particle sources.
Construction of the research centre started in the spring of 2014. The total floor area of the building complex equals 24,462 square metres. The first lasers were installed in 2017. The large-scale facilities, i.e. lasers, secondary sources and experimental endstations operating with different wavelengths, pulses and energies, and procured during the project were designed, constructed and commissioned by ELI ALPS’ staff members in collaboration with national and international partners. Initially, we provided beam time and user support through collaboration agreements with invited research groups. Since 2019, researchers from around the world have been able to access our equipment for experiments through proposals submitted in response to our user calls. During the implementation phase of the GINOP project, 79 commissioning user experiments and collaborative research projects were carried out.
The completed laser research centre is a pinnacle of European innovation, and can lay the foundations for future discoveries of global importance in a wide range of scientific fields. Thanks to the project, Szeged – and Hungary – show up more prominently than ever on the map of Europe as an international centre of scientific life in the region.
| Project phase: | P1 |
|---|---|
| Project ID number: | GOP-1.5.1-2010-0001 |
| Project full name: | "ELI laser research centre preparatory project phase 1" |
| Tender form: | USZT |
| Subsidy intensity: | 100% |
| Beginning of project: | 07.03.2011. |
| End of project: | 28.02.2013. |
| Total budget: | HUF 823 004 210 |
| Maintenance period: | - |
| Project phase: | P2 |
|---|---|
| Project ID number: | GOP-1.5.1-11-2011-0001 |
| Project full name: | "ELI laser research centre preparatory project phase 2" |
| Tender form: | USZT |
| Subsidy intensity: | 100% |
| Beginning of project: | 20.07.2011. |
| End of project: | 31.08.2013. |
| Total budget: | HUF 1 611 459 336 |
| Maintenance period: | - |
| Project phase: | P3 |
|---|---|
| Project ID number: | GOP-1.1.1-12/B-2012-0001 |
| Project full name: | "ELI laser research centre (ELI-ALPS) large project phase 1" |
| Tender form: | USZT |
| Subsidy intensity: | 100% |
| Beginning of project: | 01.01.2013. |
| End of project: | 31.12.2015. |
| Total budget: | HUF 29 498 000 000 |
| Maintenance period: | project completion + 5 year 31.12.2021 |
| Project phase: | P4 |
|---|---|
| Project ID number: | GINOP-2.3.6-15-2015-00001 |
| Project full name: | "ELI laser research centre (ELI-ALPS) large project phase 2" |
| Tender form: | Széchenyi 2020 |
| Subsidy intensity: | 100% |
| Beginning of project: | 01.01.2014. |
| End of project: | 30.09.2023. |
| Total budget: | HUF 49 288 561 602 |
| Maintenance period: | project completion + 5 year 30.09.2028 |