“The positive assessment by the German Council of Science and Humanities is a great recognition of our work. My special thanks go to everyone involved for the excellent collaboration – especially the dedicated project team, which has driven DALI forward with a high level of scientific and technical expertise,” explains the Scientific Director of the HZDR, Prof. Sebastian M. Schmidt. “Together, we have laid the foundation for an infrastructure that can set international research standards.”
Saxon Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow shares this view: “The realization of this outstanding and visionary research project at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf has cleared another important hurdle with the recommendation of the Science Council. I would like to congratulate the researchers at the HZDR on this successfully completed stage. This brings us another step closer to our goal of creating a beacon of cutting-edge research with international appeal for leading scientists and innovative technology companies from all over the world.”
Outstanding scientific and strategic importance
In its statement, the Science Council emphasizes that DALI can strengthen the technological sovereignty of Germany and Europe, support industrial value chains and increase international competitiveness. At the same time, the facility can increase the attractiveness of Germany as a research location and offer excellent conditions for highly qualified specialists.
The German Council of Science and Humanities sees particular potential in the thematic breadth of DALI: The infrastructure connects previously separate fields of research and enables new collaborations, for example in the areas of quantum materials, semiconductor development, sustainable catalysis or biomedical research. It can thus decisively advance the transfer of basic research into application-oriented technologies.
New insights into ultrafast material processes
DALI is a light source in the terahertz (THz) frequency range that is based on electron accelerators and is to be coupled with laser radiation. The system is intended to provide a precise view into the world of elementary quantum processes in practically every type of matter. The THz light pulses from DALI will be so intense that new, normally non-existent states of matter can be generated in a targeted manner.
To do this, the facility uses several superconducting accelerators that accelerate billions of electrons per second to almost the speed of light. These extremely high-energy electron clouds are compressed to such an extent that they can ultimately emit pulsed THz radiation in synchronization using magnetic fields. At the same time, the laser beams make it possible to observe the processes generated with THz light. The result is a film that decodes the microscopic quantum processes in the sample with ultimate temporal precision.
With this technology, DALI will enable scientists to trigger microscopic processes with light and generate excited states of matter. This is precisely what is needed to develop new materials that can form the basis for leap innovations. Quantum technologies in particular are seen as the basis for future applications in many areas. Without THz radiation, however, quantum research reaches its limits. DALI will literally bring light into the darkness here and create the basis for the further development of quantum technologies and numerous applications.
About the national prioritization process
In 2024, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research set up a new procedure for prioritizing extensive new research infrastructures. The aim of the initiative is to identify projects with a high level of scientific excellence and strong innovation and transfer potential. The concepts submitted were assessed by the German Council of Science and Humanities, the scientific advisory body of the federal and state governments. The scientific potential, the potential for use by the research community, the importance for Germany as a science location and the technical feasibility were assessed.
Media contact:
Simon Schmitt | Management and press spokesperson
Department of Communication and Media at the HZDR
Tel: +49 351 260 3400 | Mobile: +49 175 874 2865 | E-Mail: s.schmitt@hzdr.de
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