Novel steps for the construction of the EU Laser Centre at Szeged2011. december 15.
The kick-off conference for the preparation of the project to realise the ELI laser research centre started with the inaugural of Ágnes Molnár, State Secretary for Development Policy Co-ordination of the Ministry for National Development on 10 November 2011 at Szeged. “Those countries will be rich which spend much on research. Those will be rich which courageously put their trust in the most exciting investment fund: human creativity”, the Secretary of State emphasised.
One of the 44 large research facilities of Europe, the so-called super-laser, creating considerable opportunities for both domestic and international scientific and economic life, may be created at Szeged. Ágnes Molnár underlined that “The Government allocates HUF 64 billion to the investment from the EU Structural Funds; HUF 3 billion is available for preparations”. Hungary could never before spend such an amount of resources on a research infrastructure development programme.
The investment is one of the National Programmes of the New Széchenyi Plan which produce substantial community benefits based on existing values and credits. In June 2011, the Government declared the development a matter of priority importance in the interest of the acceleration of the authorisation process, reducing thereby the administrative burdens and the expenses related to the investment.
The project targeting the construction of the research super-laser with a performance capacity that is a thousand times bigger than that of the currently existing biggest laser is supervised by the Ministry of National Development. The preparations are monitored in close co-operation with the Ministry also by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Science Policy Council of the Government.
This work, launched already, will generate international repute and recognition through the co-operation of scientists, professional communities and economic actors. The investment will be profitable not only for Szeged and the surrounding area, but it will have beneficial effects also on the entire national economy. Due in the first place to the internationally acknowledged performance and the community of committed scientists of Szeged University of Science, the town is an excellent place to host one of the most significant research centres of Europe.
The application to be submitted for EU approval shall be presented to the Government by 15 January 2012. According to the schedule specified in the plans, the Hungarian super-laser could be active already by end-2015. The direct utilisation areas of research results produced with ELI might include isotope production, medical treatment, pharmaceuticals research and gene structure investigation.