ALBA is a 3rd generation Synchrotron Light facility located in Spain near Barcelona, being the newest source in the Mediterranean area.

It is a complex of electron accelerators to produce synchrotron light, which allows the visualisation of the atomic structure of matter as well as the study of its properties.

The 3 GeV electron beam energy at ALBA is achieved by combining a LInear ACcelerator (LINAC) and a low-emittance, full-energy BOOSTER placed in the same tunnel as the STORAGE RING. ALBA’s 270 meter perimeter has 17 straight sections all of which are available for the installation of insertion devices.

This large scientific infrastructure provides more than 6.000 hours of beam time per year and is available for the academic and the industrial sector, serving more than 2.000 researchers every year. Since as early as 2012, ALBA has been hosting official users, 65% from Spanish institutions and 35% from other countries.

Managed by the Consortium for the Construction, Equipping and Exploitation of the Synchrotron Light Source (CELLS), it is funded in equal parts by the Spanish and the Catalonian Administration.