ILL at a glance

The Institut Laue-Langevin is an international research centre at the leading edge of neutron science and technology, offering researchers an exceptionally high neutron flux through around 40 state-of-the-art instruments that are constantly being developed and upgraded. As a service institute, the ILL makes its facilities and expertise available to visiting scientists. Every year, about 1400 researchers from over 40 countries visit the ILL and more than 1000 experiments selected by a scientific review committee are performed.

About 60% of the research at ILL focuses on fundamental science in fields such as condensed matter physics, chemistry, biology, nuclear physics, and materials science. The remaining 40% is dedicated to directly addressing modern societal challenges, namely in health, energy, the environment, and information technologies. For example, research is being conducted to explore how nuclear medicine can contribute to the fight against cancer, to develop new materials that can help meet tomorrow’s energy challenges. or new technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Whilst some researchers are working on battery design, fuels and catalysts, plastics and pharmaceuticals, others are looking at biological processes at cellular and molecular level. Still others may be elucidating the physics that could contribute to the electronic devices of the future. The ILL can especially tailor its neutron beams to probe the fundamental processes that help to explain how our universe came into being, why it looks the way it does today and how it can sustain life. 

The ILL also collaborates closely and at different levels of confidentiality with the R&D departments of industrial companies. All the scientists at the ILL - chemists, physicists, biologists, crystallographers, specialists in magnetism and nuclear physics - are also experts in neutron research and technology and their combined know-how is made available to the scientific community.

Funded and managed by France, Germany and the United Kingdom, and in scientific partnership with 10 other countries, ILL is located in the serene yet scientifically rich city of Grenoble, nestled in the foothills of the French Alps.

The institute is primarily a research facility for visiting scientists. However, a general public visitor can access the site for guided tours for specific groups, or during public events and conferences. Access is also possible through partnerships or collaborative research projects with the institute. For further details on visiting, please refer to this page.