The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility is a joint facility supported by 18 European countries situated in Grenoble, France. The ESRF operates the most powerful synchrotron radiation source in Europe, and is generally considered to be a world leading research facility. The ESRF has an annual budget of around 74 million euros, employs over 600 people and is host to more than 3500 visiting scientists each year.
Research in the ESRF focuses, in large part, on the use of X-ray radiation in fields as diverse as protein crystallography, earth science, materials science and physics. Facilities such as the ESRF offer a flux, energy range and resolution unachievable with conventional laboratory sources.
The ESRF shares its site with several other institutions including the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).
