This year, Lithuania's laser industry celebrates its 60th anniversary. Over these six decades, a sector that grew out of academic laboratories has evolved into one of the country's highest value-added export industries. According to the Innovation Agency, as much as 90–95% of Lithuanian laser production is exported to more than 80 countries worldwide, while the sector continues to grow by over 16% annually.
Just six years after the invention of the laser in the United States, Vilnius University physicists Juozas Vidmantas Vaitkus and Remigijus Baltramiejūnas ignited the first Lithuanian ruby laser in 1966. Although the foundations of the ecosystem were laid in scientific laboratories, the real turning point came during the 1990s and early 2000s. Companies that emerged from the scientific community made a bold decision: to compete globally from the very beginning. Today, the profit generated per employee in the sector exceeds the national average by more than twofold.
The success of Lithuania's laser sector is directly reflected in the country's export statistics: lasers and their components rank among the fastest-growing categories of scientific instruments and electronics exports. According to Simona Buziliauskienė, Head of the Advancement Department at the Innovation Agency: "Last year, exports of high-tech goods grew by 7.2%, while knowledge-intensive services increased by as much as 24%. Together, these sectors account for 26.8% of all exports of Lithuanian-origin products. Exports of Lithuanian high-tech goods demonstrate export value growth that is twice as fast. Germany, Poland and the United States have been Lithuania's main export partners for high-tech products over the past five years."
The strength of Lithuania's laser sector lies not in individual companies, but in the ecosystem as a whole. Universities, research centres and businesses work closely together within this ecosystem.
Kristina Ananičienė, Executive Director of the Lithuanian Laser Association, emphasises that this close connection between science and industry has been a cornerstone of success. "From the very beginning, Lithuanian companies developed their own technologies rather than copying existing solutions. This enabled the country to become one of the world's strongest developers of ultrafast laser technologies," says Ananičienė.
From Pioneer to Architect of Global Systems
Over the past decades, the role of laser engineers has changed dramatically. Gabrielė Stankūnaitė, Head of Communications at Light Conversion, a company founded more than three decades ago, explains that engineers once worked under conditions of extremely limited resources, lacking both components and access to information. Engineers had to do everything themselves: design parts, manufacture them or adapt them from other devices, bring back technical knowledge from foreign catalogues, and simultaneously take care of production, logistics and even workshop facilities. It was a profession defined by ingenuity and versatility.
Today, the scale is entirely different. Tens of thousands of laser systems operate worldwide, allowing engineers to focus on what matters most: the precise development of technologies. Their responsibility has expanded from individual products to ensuring the reliability of industrial processes and enabling scientific progress. Engineers are therefore responsible not only for the quality of the devices they produce, but also for their impact on customers' operations and the value they create.
Technologies Shaping Everyday Life
One of the sector's most prominent companies today is Light Conversion, which has grown over three decades from a group of scientists into a global leader in femtosecond laser technology.
The company's femtosecond lasers are used in industries requiring the highest precision, where materials must be processed efficiently while minimising thermal damage. They are employed, for example, in cutting smartphone display glass, camera cover glass and other fragile materials used in electronics manufacturing. They are also used to drill microscopic holes in automotive fuel injectors to improve engine efficiency and reduce emissions.
According to the company's Head of Communications, these lasers also play an important role in medicine. "They are used to cut stents—tiny cylindrical mesh structures implanted into blocked or narrowed blood vessels to restore blood flow. More than one million stenting procedures are performed annually in the European Union alone. Femtosecond lasers are also widely used in vision correction surgery. Tens of millions of such procedures have already been carried out worldwide, reflecting a broader trend towards minimally invasive medical interventions," says Stankūnaitė.
Femtosecond lasers also enable 5D data storage in glass. This technology makes it possible to preserve enormous amounts of information within a tiny and highly durable piece of material, ensuring data longevity even under extreme conditions.
The Laser: Independent Lithuania's First Export Product to Japan
Kęstutis Jasiūnas, Chairman of the Board of EKSPLA and one of the company's founders, recalls that the company's origins date back to 1983, when physicists and engineers working at the experimental facility of Eksma set out to create the world's most advanced picosecond laser. In 1987, the PL1020 laser was presented and sold in Munich, becoming the first sign that Lithuanian technologies could compete on the global stage.
After Lithuania regained independence, this breakthrough evolved into a symbolic milestone. In 1993, two EKSPLA lasers were exported to Japan, at that time the only Lithuanian products entering that market. Japan became not only a strategically important destination but also a seal of quality: recommendations received there opened the doors to the United States market.
Today, EKSPLA is a global player whose lasers are used in leading universities and industries around the world. The company has evolved from laboratory solutions to industrial technologies, with its products no longer merely reflecting scientific progress, but actively shaping it.
Jasiūnas notes that the company's products are now exported to more than 80 countries, and its lasers are used by many of the world's leading universities. EKSPLA has also received the prestigious SPIE Prism Awards.
EKSMA Optics: Small Components That Make All the Difference
For more than three decades, EKSMA Optics has been developing what often remains invisible but is essential to every laser system: optical components. The precision, reliability and safety of laser systems depend on these small yet critical elements, which are used in science, medicine, quantum technologies, defence and the semiconductor industry.
According to Audrius Jakštas, Technical Sales Director at EKSMA Optics, the company's components are used in some of the world's most powerful laser systems, including those being developed for laser-driven nuclear fusion—a technology that may one day become an alternative to today's nuclear energy.
"Among EKSMA Optics' most sought-after technologies today are two key solutions," says Jakštas. "The first are electro-optical components such as Pockels cells with integrated drivers, which enable extremely precise and rapid control of laser pulses, effectively 'slicing' light signals with microsecond or even nanosecond precision. They are indispensable in femtosecond and picosecond laser systems used in both advanced scientific experiments and medical applications. The second are optical components coated using Ion Beam Sputtering (IBS) technology. These coatings exhibit exceptional resistance to laser-induced damage and can therefore be used in very high-power, high-energy laser systems."
Fundamentally, these technologies address one of the key challenges of modern photonics engineering: ensuring that optical systems remain stable, accurate and reliable while operating under extremely high-power and ultrashort-pulse conditions and meeting the stringent requirements of scientific research, defence, quantum technologies and advanced manufacturing.
A Historic Shift: From Laboratories to Factories
Over the course of six decades, Lithuania's laser sector has undergone a remarkable transformation—from scientific laboratories to global markets. As Kristina Ananičienė notes, one of the most significant changes today is the sector's clear shift towards industry: nearly half of all laser sales are now made directly to industrial customers.
This transformation has also reshaped the technologies themselves. While scientific breakthroughs were once the primary objective, lasers are now designed to be practical, efficient and easy to integrate into real manufacturing processes—from medicine and electronics to advanced manufacturing and defence applications.
The Photonics Era: New Opportunities for Lithuania
Over the next decade, the growing importance of photonics will continue to reshape the world. It is becoming an essential component of semiconductors, quantum technologies, space applications and defence.
For Lithuanian companies, this means more than increasing demand for high-value laser products. It presents an opportunity to transform business models—from supplying individual components to developing complete, integrated solutions. Such a transition enables the creation of significantly greater economic value while strengthening Lithuania's position in global high-tech markets.
Global Competition and Geopolitical Challenges
Gediminas Račiukaitis, President of the Lithuanian Laser Association, identifies geopolitics and rapidly changing national priorities as among the sector's greatest risks. Some laser technologies are classified as sensitive products, making their export subject to licensing requirements and international restrictions.
Global competition is also intensifying. While the United States, Germany and France have long been major players in laser technologies, China is progressing particularly rapidly in the field of ultrafast lasers.
Additional pressure comes from geopolitical tensions and disruptions to supply chains in high-tech and defence sectors. These developments serve as a reminder that technological leadership cannot be taken for granted—it must be continuously reinforced through investment in science and innovation, as well as through the ability to adapt quickly to changing export regulations.
Why Do Talents Choose Lithuania?
Despite these challenges, Lithuania's laser sector remains attractive to talent. According to Račiukaitis, young people are motivated not only by competitive salaries but also by the opportunity to develop world-class technologies without leaving Lithuania.
The sector's international recognition encourages students to pursue STEM careers, while Lithuania's growing reputation abroad is one of the factors motivating expatriate specialists to return home. Equally important is the dynamic working environment, which allows people to grow quickly, take on responsibility and see the direct impact of their work while helping to shape the technologies of the future.
The Formula for Success: Collaboration
Lithuania's strength lies not only in its technologies, but also in its ability to work together. A compact laser ecosystem, a strong sense of community and mutual trust allow the world to perceive Lithuania as one powerful laser hub rather than a collection of individual companies.
At the same time, healthy competition among research institutions and businesses also strengthens the sector. This balance—unity outwardly and constructive competition internally—helps Lithuania remain visible and competitive in the global marketplace.
