  Neutrinoless double beta decay is a hypothetical, very slow nuclear
transition in which two neutrons undergo beta decay simultaneously and without
the emission of neutrinos. The importance of this process goes beyond its
intrinsic interest: an unambiguous observation would establish a Majorana
nature for the neutrino and prove the violation of lepton number. NEXT is a new
experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay using a radiopure
high-pressure xenon gas TPC, filled with 100 kg of Xe enriched in Xe-136. NEXT
will be the first large high-pressure gas TPC to use electroluminescence
readout with SOFT (Separated, Optimized FuncTions) technology. The design
consists in asymmetric TPC, with photomultipliers behind a transparent cathode
and position-sensitive light pixels behind the anode. The experiment is
approved to start data taking at the Laboratorio Subterr\'aneo de Canfranc
(LSC), Spain, in 2014.
