Czech-UK laser facilities team up

A state-of-the-art laser facility currently under construction in Prague is set to become one of Europe’s Centres of Excellence thanks to a new partnership project with the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

The Czech Institute of Physics’ HiLASE facility and the UK’s STFC Central Laser Facility have been awarded around €500,000 in the first phase of funding of the new Teaming initiative under Horizon 2020. The partners will use this money to build a strong business case for the partnership, which will go forward for examination at the second stage of the Teaming initiative.

If successful in the second round, the partners will receive up to €20m in funding to transform HiLASE into a technologically advanced Centre of Excellence, aimed at serving a broad scientific and industrial laser user community. This will allow HiLASE to access the world leading expertise and technology already available within the CLF and will establish the Centre as an innovation hub, raising the region’s scientific and economic performance.

Professor Jan Ridky, director of the Institute of Physics in Prague said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for us to develop our HiLASE laser into a world class Centre of Excellence as a user facility. We are greatly looking forward to working with our STFC partners over the coming months.”

STFC’s Central Laser Facility is recognised as a world leader in the development of the ‘next generation’ laser technology based on diode pumping, which is at the heart of this partnership project. This technology enables high power laser operation at high repetition rates of many pulses per second. It will drive new laser-based applications in industry, such as advanced material treatments and energy production.

Horizon 2020’s Teaming initiative aims to establish and reinforce partnerships between countries with collaborations between regional research institutes and their international leading counterparts.