Einstein Telescope: six consortia working on the latest technology
Three new consortia will receive financial support for the Einstein Telescope.
Published on March 17, 2025
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Six consortia of a total of 26 Dutch high-tech companies and knowledge institutes will develop technology for the Einstein Telescope, Europe's most advanced observatory for measuring gravitational waves from space. The consortia will focus on challenges in optics, vacuum technology, vibration-free cooling, vibration damping and thermal deformations. They will receive over €12 million in subsidies for this.
Einstein Telescope, a window on the universe
The Einstein Telescope will be Europe's most advanced observatory for gravitational waves, more than ten times more sensitive than existing observatories. A large group of European research institutes, companies, and governments are now working together on this ambitious project. The Dutch consortia are stepping in to provide some of the necessary technology.
Three new consortia recently added
Three new consortia are receiving financial support from the R&D scheme for the Einstein Telescope, as are three consortia that started earlier in 2024. The R&D scheme is part of the Einstein Telescope valorization program for high-tech companies, a program of the National Growth Fund. The scheme is carried out by the regional development agencies (ROMs) under the direction of LIOF. We list the three new consortia:
Sensitive mirrors
The heart of the Einstein Telescope is a series of sensitive silicon mirrors, 45 cm in diameter and weighing about 200 kg. These mirrors must be extremely smooth, reflect 99.999% of the laser light and operate at cryogenic temperatures between 10 and 20 °C above absolute zero. Consortium partners will test various techniques to super-polish and sample the silicon, and will also test a technique to forge smaller mirror segments into a single whole.
Flawless laser beams
Optical support systems with hundreds of mirrors are needed to make the laser beams of the Einstein Telescope crystal clear. These can be slightly distorted by small temperature differences. Such thermal deformation also distorts the laser beam and makes the Einstein Telescope less accurate. The Thermal Deformations consortium is developing a system that measures and corrects these effects.
Producing tube elements
The vacuum tubes of the Einstein Telescope are 120 kilometers long in total and ensure that air and dust do not interfere with the sensitive measurements. The metal of the vacuum tubes themselves can also introduce contaminants into the vacuum, such as dust particles or water vapor. The Vacuum Technology consortium develops and qualifies procedures to cleanly produce tube elements on a large scale. The work builds on R&D by the European particle lab CERN.
Dutch consortia secure €2.75 million for Einstein Telescope vibration damping research
The Einstein Telescope, planned to be the most sensitive gravitational wave observatory in Europe, faces significant challenges related to vibration damping.