The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) based in Grenoble, operates the most powerful high-energy synchrotron light source in Europe.

The ESRF hosts 6000 scientific user visits per year for 900 different experiments. This facility produces very intense X-ray beamlines capable of penetrating material and revealing the inner structure of matter down to atomic levels.

The ESRF brings together many areas in science including physics, chemistry and materials science as well as biology, medicine, geophysics and archaeology. There are many industrial applications, for example in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, petrochemicals and micro electronics.

The ESRF is shared by 19 countries with the UK contributing towards the annual budget. STFC looks after the UK’s interest, representing a 14% share hold in ESRF. UK scientists currently receive approximately 18% of the available beamtime.