ELI Beamlines was visited together with A. Babiš by the Deputy Minister for Research and Higher Education section Pavel Doleček, President of the Czech Academy of Sciences Eva Zažímalová and Michael Prouza, the director of the Institute of Physics. After a short welcome in the atrium, Roman Hvězda, the manager of the facility, had a presentation about the center itself, its current state and plans for the future. Afterwards, the delegation took a look in the visitor gallery, where the chief scientist for laser technologies Bedřich Rus and the head of department of experimental programmes Georg Korn presented the ELI scientific mission.
Discussion among representatives of the Office of the Government, the Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Institute of Physics closed an almost two hours visit.
ELI Beamlines has the ambition to become the world state-of-the-art research center. It is currently equipped with unique technologies: in July, the petawatt laser system L3-HAPLS was launched and the most powerful laser in the world: 10-petawatt laser system will arrive in September. ELI Beamlines is one of three pillars implemented in Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic.