Central Laser Facility

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

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

• Laser research facility
• Ultrafast spectroscopy services
• High power laser access
• Advanced imaging cluster
• Photon science research

Headquarters

HQ city

Didcot

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core 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

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of SheffieldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration 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 KentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with CLF's Octopus Imaging team on CRISPR-Cas9 DNA damage research methodology development.
• UCL (University College London)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CLF's Octopus team on CRISPR-Cas9 methodology for DNA damage studies and repair pathway research.
• Francis Crick InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term research collaboration using Octopus Imaging Cluster for cancer drug discovery, including screening 100,000 compounds to find more effective breast cancer treatments.
• AstraZenecacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative pharmaceutical research with Octopus team for potential new drug treatments for cancer and other diseases.
• King's College LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research with Francis Crick Institute and AstraZeneca on breast cancer drug discovery using CLF imaging facilities.
• LightOxminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCLF and LightOx collaboration funded through Innovate UK's 'Analysis for Innovators' (A4I) scheme, investigating new applications for light-activated products.
• Light ConversionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the 2026 LSF User Meeting, providing support for scientific exchange events.
• Laser 2000minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the 2026 LSF User Meeting supporting the photon science community event.
• ONiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the 2026 LSF User Meeting.
• Photonic SolutionsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the 2026 LSF User Meeting.
• Diamond Light SourcecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCLF-Diamond collaboration using STARS technique for insights into opto-electronic and spintronic materials development.
• eBIC (Electron Bio-Imaging Centre)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration between CLF's Octopus team and eBIC to understand inner workings of methanotroph bacteria, published in Nature Communications.
• Research Complex at HarwellcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtemis 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/CLF_STFC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stfc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Central Laser Facility