LLE and NSF OPAL Leadership Visit ELI Beamlines in Czechia to Strengthen Global Collaboration in High-Field Laser Science

On October 9, 2025, Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) Director, Chris Deeney, and NSF OPAL Project Director, Jon Zuegel, visited the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) Beamlines facility near Prague, Czechia. The visit included tours of ELI’s advanced laser bays and experimental halls, accompanied by in-depth discussions on facility governance, user-access policies, and opportunities for future collaboration between the two leading institutions in high-field laser science.

Located at the forefront of international research in high-energy-density and high-field physics, NSF OPAL and ELI Beamlines share complementary scientific and technological goals. Both facilities aim to push the boundaries of laser-driven science using next-generation ultraintense and high-energy laser systems that can operate at significantly higher shot rates and enable studies across a wide range of high-field phenomena—probing matter under extreme conditions and developing innovative secondary radiation sources such as particle beams, x-rays, and gamma rays.

While ELI Beamlines began user operations in 2022 with its L3-HAPLS and L4-ATON lasers, NSF OPAL has entered its preliminary design stage and is poised to begin construction in the coming years. ELI’s suite of laser systems spans a broad performance range—from a kilohertz, sub-joule ultrashort-pulse laser to a kilojoule laser capable of delivering nanosecond, picosecond, or even femtosecond pulses at up to 10 petawatts peak power. NSF OPAL will advance this frontier with two 25-petawatt beamlines (500 J, 20 fs) distributed to three interaction chambers and couple the four multi-kilojoule, nanosecond ultraviolet OMEGA EP beamlines into one of these chambers—creating a globally unique configuration for exploring light–matter interactions at the highest intensities.

The exchange underscored the value of international partnerships in developing shared best practices for user facilities and in fostering a global research community. The visit provided an important opportunity for NSF OPAL leadership to learn from the operational experience of ELI Beamlines and to explore future collaborations that can benefit both scientific communities.