ALBA is a 3rd Generation SL facility located near Barcelona, Spain, the latest to come into operation in the world. It is based on a 3 GeV low emittance electron synchrotron, producing photons from Infrared up to hard X-rays of tens of keV. Seven state of the art beamlines are in operation and receiving users since 2012. Biosciences, Condensed Matter, Nanoscience, Materials Science, Chemistry and different multidisciplinary areas have research opportunities in the available instruments.
The history and the status of the facility will be described, together with scientific highlights and an outlook for the future.