ALBA Synchrotron was inaugurated on Monday 22 March, the largest and most complex scientific facility ever constructed in Spain. ALBA is one of the main affiliated centres of the UAB (Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona) Campus of International Excellence. ALBA will work as a large microscope to allow scientists to discover the secrets of matter structure at atomic and molecular levels. The properties of light generated are able to penetrate matter in an extremely selective manner and this will facilitate the analysis of molecules and materials. Each of the beamlines - seven in the first phase - is aimed at a specific use. Some of the applications made possible by these facilities include the study of the biological structures of proteins; the analysis of virus and bacteria; the creation of new drugs; the development of diagnosis techniques and medical therapies; the design of new industrial materials and authenticity analyses of historical remains and art works. The construction of ALBA was possible thanks to the 201 million euros in investment since 2003, funded jointly by the Catalan Government and the Spanish Government under the Consortium CELLS (Consortium for the Construction, Equipment and Exploitation of the Synchrotron Light Laboratory). Dr Ramon Pascual, president of the consortium and professor of Physics at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, was the person in charge of proposing and putting the project into motion. GTD has realized al the control and command systems for HVAC functions. HVAC control is particularly very important for the correct functions of a Synchrotron, particularly in the extreme conditions (very low and high temperatures and moisture). GTD realized the same performance 15 years ago in the ESRF Synchrotron in Grenoble (France). Download ALBA e-book
