The center will make a wide range of ultrashort light sources accessible to the international scientific community, according to Hungarian news agency MTI. The center will chiefly be focusing on researching and applying valence and core electron science, 4D imaging, relativistic interactions, and biological, medical and industrial applications.

The ELI Attosecond Light Pulse Source (ELI-ALPS) in Szeged is expected to open new avenues to reveal the secrets of matter on ultrashort timescales.

The center has been realized within the ELI project that Hungary won in 2009 jointly with the Czech Republic and Romania. Under the project, a particle and X-ray research facility will be opened in Prague and a photonuclear research facility on the outskirts of Bucharest.