ALBA is a 3rd generation Synchrotron Light facility located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, (Barcelona), being the newest source in the Mediterranean area.

It is a complex of electron accelerators to produce synchrotron light, which allows the visualization 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.

ALBA currently has eight operational state-of-the-art beamlines, comprising soft and hard X-rays, which are devoted mainly to biosciences, condensed matter (magnetic and electronic properties, nanoscience) and materials science. Additionally, two beamlines are in construction (low-energy ultra-high-resolution angular photoemission for complex materials and microfocus for macromolecular crystallography).

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 1.000 researchers every year. Since as early as 2012, ALBA has been hosting official users, 75% from Spanish institutions and 25% 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.

ALBA is a facility committed to scientific excellence and to improve the well-being and progress of society as a whole.