Central Laser Facility
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersDidcot, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Central Laser Facility firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Central Laser Facility
- Legal name
- Central Laser Facility (CLF)
- Website
- https://clf.stfc.ac.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Central Laser Facility industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Scientific Laser Research Facility
- NAICS
- Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541990)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Public Research Universities with National Laboratories/Big Science Facilities (EDAHAAAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI), Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser) (HDAHACAG)
Keywords
Where Central Laser Facility is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Didcot
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Central Laser Facility business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations
Revenue model
- Research Facility Access: As a UK national research facility under STFC and UKRI, CLF provides access to academic researchers and industry users. Access is provided through competitive application processes and calls for access. The facility is primarily government-funded but also serves commercial customers.
- Industry Access and Collaborations: ULTRA and other facilities provide industry access for innovation, with collaborations with councils, academic institutes, and commercial companies for R&D and technology development.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Academic Access (UK) - No direct charge for UK academics |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Central Laser Facility product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Central Laser Facility operates as a UK national research facility providing access to advanced laser systems and imaging clusters for academic and industrial researchers. It offers access to multiple high-power laser facilities including Artemis, Gemini, Octopus, Ultra, and the Vulcan 20-20 upgrade, enabling research in ultrafast science, spectroscopy, imaging, and photon-based studies. Access is provided through competitive application processes, with dedicated scientific staff supporting user research.
Product overview
The Central Laser Facility (CLF) is a UK national research facility operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. It provides a portfolio of advanced laser and imaging facilities for academic and industrial research. The CLF operates as a platform of distinct laser systems including: Artemis (ultrafast XUV science using high harmonic generation), Gemini (high power dual-beam ultra-short pulse laser), OCTOPUS (multi-technique imaging cluster for super-resolution microscopy), ULTRA (time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy), and the Vulcan 20-20 upgrade (20 PW extreme peak power laser). Major development projects include HiLUX (£17M ultrafast laser upgrade), EPAC (Extreme Photonics Applications Centre), and UK XFEL. The CLF supports research across physical and life sciences including condensed matter physics, gas-phase chemistry, biology, and energy science.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Artemis: Ultrafast XUV science facility using high harmonics to investigate electron dynamics in condensed matter and gas-phase molecules
- Gemini
- Octopus
- ULTRA
- Vulcan 20-20
- HiLUX
- EPAC
Products and services
- Artemis Ultrafast XUV (extreme ultraviolet) science facility using high harmonic generation to investigate electron dynamics in condensed matter and gas-phase molecules, and for lensless imaging. Based on high repetition rate, few optical cycle and widely tuneable laser sources with ultrafast XUV (10-100 eV) pulses.
- Gemini High power, ultra-short pulse laser system delivering dual beams of 15 J, 30 fs laser pulses at a rate of one shot every 20 seconds. Uses titanium-doped sapphire (TiS) as active material working at 800 nm in the near infra-red. Capable of delivering 30 J on target in two beams with intensity greater than 10^21 W/cm^-2.
- OCTOPUS Imaging cluster (Optics Clustered to OutPut Unique Solutions) offering advanced laser-based imaging and laser trapping capabilities including super-resolution microscopy (including at cryogenic temperature), multidimensional single molecule imaging and tracking, confocal microscopy, light microscopy, and focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy for life, environmental, and materials sciences.
- ULTRA World-class time-resolved (pump-probe) spectroscopy facility combining laser, detector and sample manipulation technology to probe ultrafast molecular dynamics for innovative research in the physical and life sciences in academia and industry.
- Vulcan 20-20 Major upgrade to the existing Vulcan facility delivering an extreme high peak power 20 PW beam together with a cluster of beams delivering up to 20 kilojoules of energy into two experimental areas. One of the most intense lasers ever constructed, enabling exploration of laser-driven ion acceleration, photon-photon collisions, high-energy X-rays, gamma-rays, and inertial fusion energy research.
- EPAC (Extreme Photonics Applications Centre) Extreme Photonics Applications Centre providing cutting-edge photonics applications research capabilities at CLF.
- UK XFEL UK X-ray Free-Electron Laser scientific case project - a major national infrastructure project for X-ray laser science.
- HiLUX £17 million upgrade project focusing on development of ultrafast laser and infrared, Raman and XUV spectrometer infrastructure at the Central Laser Facility on the Harwell Campus, benefiting both Ultra and Artemis facilities.
- UPLiFT Project UK Petawatt Laser for Fusion Technology (UPLiFT) project focused on laser fusion energy research at CLF.
Quantifiable outcome
- First demonstration of gain via fusion at National Ignition Facility in 2022
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Central Laser Facility
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Central Laser Facility technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Central Laser Facility partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- University of SheffieldcoreCollaboration with CLF's Octopus Imaging team to develop CRISPR-Cas9 methodology for studying DNA damage repair pathways. Researchers from Sheffield worked with CLF scientists to create a versatile method for inducing double-strand breaks in DNA for cancer research.
- University of KentcoreCollaboration with CLF's Octopus Imaging team on CRISPR-Cas9 DNA damage research methodology development.
- UCL (University College London)corePartnership with CLF's Octopus team on CRISPR-Cas9 methodology for DNA damage studies and repair pathway research.
- Francis Crick InstitutecoreLong-term research collaboration using Octopus Imaging Cluster for cancer drug discovery, including screening 100,000 compounds to find more effective breast cancer treatments.
- AstraZenecacoreCollaborative pharmaceutical research with Octopus team for potential new drug treatments for cancer and other diseases.
- King's College LondoncoreCollaborative research with Francis Crick Institute and AstraZeneca on breast cancer drug discovery using CLF imaging facilities.
- LightOxminorCLF and LightOx collaboration funded through Innovate UK's 'Analysis for Innovators' (A4I) scheme, investigating new applications for light-activated products.
- Light ConversionminorSponsor of the 2026 LSF User Meeting, providing support for scientific exchange events.
- Laser 2000minorSponsor of the 2026 LSF User Meeting supporting the photon science community event.
- ONiminorSponsor of the 2026 LSF User Meeting.
- Photonic SolutionsminorSponsor of the 2026 LSF User Meeting.
- Diamond Light SourcecoreCLF-Diamond collaboration using STARS technique for insights into opto-electronic and spintronic materials development.
- eBIC (Electron Bio-Imaging Centre)coreCollaboration between CLF's Octopus team and eBIC to understand inner workings of methanotroph bacteria, published in Nature Communications.
- Research Complex at HarwellcoreArtemis facility has moved to new labs in the Research Complex, creating integrated research environment with Ultra and Octopus facilities.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Central Laser Facility competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- LCLS (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory): Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC, USA. World's first hard X-ray free-electron laser user facility operated by a national lab, sharing CLF's model of providing competitive-access beamtime to academic and industry researchers across physical and life sciences.
- ELI Beamlines (Extreme Light Infrastructure): ELI Beamlines in the Czech Republic operates petawatt-class lasers for user science in the same high-intensity, ultrafast regime as Vulcan 20-20 and Gemini. Provides open user access to academic and industrial researchers across Europe.
- European XFEL: European X-ray Free-Electron Laser at DESY, Germany. Operates as a multinational user facility delivering ultra-intense X-ray pulses for photon science — directly comparable national-scale laser infrastructure with shared academic/industry access model.
- Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI): Swiss national research institute operating large-scale user facilities (SwissFEL, SLS) including ultrafast laser and photon science programs. Comparable operating model, comparable scale, and similar mix of academic and industry users.
- LULI (Laboratoire d'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses): French high-power laser user facility at École Polytechnique operating multi-kilojoule, petawatt-class systems for academic and limited industry access. Closest geographic peer to CLF in Europe with overlapping extreme laser science mission.
- National Ignition Facility (LLNL): LLNL's NIF delivers the highest-energy laser pulses globally and is explicitly cited as a peer context for CLF's Vulcan 20-20 program (gain via fusion demonstration in 2022). Comparable high peak power, inertial fusion energy, and high-energy-density physics mission.
- SACLA (RIKEN SPring-8 Center): SACLA is Japan's compact XFEL user facility, comparable in mission to Artemis and UK XFEL planning. Provides open user access to X-ray laser pulses for physical, chemical and biological sciences with a similar national-laboratory operating model.
Regional players
- Diamond Light Source: UK synchrotron radiation facility co-located with CLF on the Harwell Campus. While operating a different technology (synchrotron vs. laser), Diamond is CLF's closest ecosystem partner, runs joint experiments (STARS), and shares many of the same academic and industry users.
Broad incumbents
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR): German research center operating high-intensity laser (DRACO) and ion beam facilities for plasma and high-energy-density physics. Larger institutional footprint than CLF but directly comparable high-peak-power laser user science mission and publicly-funded operating model.
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Advanced Light Source: LBNL operates the Advanced Light Source and laser programs serving ultrafast science user community in the US. Larger portfolio than CLF, but directly comparable national-laboratory user facility model targeting academic and industry photon-science researchers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Central Laser Facility social profiles
Digital presenceCentral Laser Facility financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Central Laser Facility leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Central Laser Facility funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Central Laser Facility M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Central Laser Facility
What does Central Laser Facility do?
The Central Laser Facility operates as a UK national research facility providing access to advanced laser systems and imaging clusters for academic and industrial researchers. It offers access to multiple high-power laser facilities including Artemis, Gemini, Octopus, Ultra, and the Vulcan 20-20 upgrade, enabling research in ultrafast science, spectroscopy, imaging, and photon-based studies. Access is provided through competitive application processes, with dedicated scientific staff supporting user research.
Is Central Laser Facility a public or private company?
Central Laser Facility is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Central Laser Facility founded?
Central Laser Facility was founded in 2007. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Central Laser Facility based?
Central Laser Facility is headquartered in Didcot, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Central Laser Facility make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Research Facility Access are the primary driver. The others are industry Access and Collaborations.
Who are Central Laser Facility's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are LCLS (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory), ELI Beamlines (Extreme Light Infrastructure), European XFEL, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), LULI (Laboratoire d'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses), National Ignition Facility (LLNL) and SACLA (RIKEN SPring-8 Center). Diamond Light Source is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Advanced Light Source.
Does Central Laser Facility have an API?
No public API is recorded for Central Laser Facility.
What industry is Central Laser Facility in?
Central Laser Facility's product category is Scientific Laser Research Facility. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHAAAJ, Public Research Universities with National Laboratories/Big Science Facilities, with a secondary code of EDAHAGAI, Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based). Its NAICS code is 54169 and its SIC code is 8731.