The agreement reaffirms the strong strategic partnership between Lithuania and ELI and further strengthens bilateral cooperation in research, innovation and advanced technologies. The partners have a shared commitment to enhancing scientific excellence, technological leadership and industrial competitiveness at the European level.
The agreement formally implements Lithuania’s engagement in ELI, further deepening the benefits of its membership in ELI and reinforcing its long-term strategic involvement in the research facility. It reflects the joint ambition to translate Lithuania’s scientific and industrial strengths into sustained participation in the development of world-class laser technologies.
Lithuanian partners actively contributed to ELI’s preparatory phase and played a pivotal role during the construction phase with the development and delivery of key laser systems. Lithuanian-developed OPCPA technologies underpin major ELI laser systems, and Lithuanian companies have been closely involved in the development and supply of advanced laser technologies and optical components. Lithuanian research teams have become increasingly active Users of the ELI facilities, achieving a strong proposal success rate within the Excellence-based User Programme. While early participation focused primarily on laser and optics research, Lithuanian teams are now expanding into secondary radiation sources and applications in fields such as radiobiology and energy research, including laser-driven fusion. This broadening scope is steadily increasing the pool of national stakeholders engaged with ELI.
On this occasion, a high-level meeting was also held to further strengthen the collaboration between key stakeholders. The meeting brought together representatives from the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation, the Research Council of Lithuania, Innovation Agency Lithuania, Vilnius University, the Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC), and the Lithuanian Laser Association, alongside representatives from ELI. The discussions focused on reinforcing strategic cooperation, expanding industrial participation, and identifying new avenues for joint scientific and technological initiatives.
“Lithuania brings both scientific depth and industrial capacity to this partnership,” said Roman Hvězda, Director of the ELI Beamlines Facility. “What is important now is that we move from successful cooperation to structured long-term alignment. There are very concrete areas where Lithuanian expertise can directly accelerate the evolution of ELI’s technologies, while opening meaningful opportunities for researchers, engineers and companies on both sides.”
The renewed agreement signals not only continuity, but progression, from partnership to strategic integration.