Launch of the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Project XFEL (June 5, 2007)

Architectural example of the central building on the XFEL research site

Architectural example of the central building on the XFEL research site.

On June 5, 2007, the German Federal Minister for Education and Research (BMBF) Dr. Annette Schavan announced the formal Launch of the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Project XFEL in Hamburg.


The XFEL is being planned as a European project with a strong connection to the DESY research center in Hamburg. Construction is set to begin in early 2008, and commissioning will start in 2013.

The X-ray laser will begin on the DESY site in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld and run mostly underground to the XFEL research site, which is to be erected south of the town of Schenefeld (Pinneberg district, Schleswig-Holstein).

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