April 2026
By: Pasquale Lubrano, Maria Marsella, Patrick Werneke, Jonathan Bratanata, Fiodor Sorrentino, Daniela Trani, Josep Freixanet, Martine Oudenhoven
The Einstein Telescope Organisation (ETO) is building on its momentum to move the project forward, armed with a strengthened mandate, a fresh partnership with ESA and with IFAE (Barcelona) as a new member of the ETO Funders Group. While the team expands and stakeholders align on engineering challenges, the immediate focus is on the Geometry Comparison Report. This report will support informed decision-making on the configuration of the Einstein Telescope. The updates that follow describe these recent and ongoing developments.
Will the future Einstein Telescope have the shape of a triangle with three sides of 10 km, or two Ls with two arms of 15 km? While the triangle seemed the most likely option during the conceptual design study in 2010, there are currently different opinions in the community about what the best geometry would be. However, a site-independent overarching report that outlines the pros and cons of both options from multiple angles is still missing. Now, work on such a report has commenced. The work is coordinated by the Einstein Telescope Organisation and the aim is to deliver the report in the autumn of 2026.
Read the full news item about the Geometry Comparison Report
Estimating costs for a large future research infrastructure like the Einstein Telescope is an extensive and complex task. Exactly the type of task the European Space Agency (ESA) is familiar with. Due to a new collaboration with ETO, the Einstein Telescope can now benefit from ESA’s expertise on costing methodologies. While the Third Party Agreement was signed in January 2026, a meeting at ESTEC in Noordwijk on 24 March 2026 marked the start of the strategic collaboration. In a joint interview, Elisabetta, Alessandro and Daniela reflect on the new collaboration, expectations and what it means for the Einstein Telescope and ESA.
Read the interview about the collaboration with ESA
Group photo of ETO and ESA representatives attending the meeting on 24 March. Credits: ESA – R. Moorkens O’Reilly.
As the Einstein Telescope project advances towards implementation, the Einstein Telescope Organisation (ETO) has received a reinforced mandate endorsed by the Board of Governmental Representatives in December 2025 and signed by the ET coordinators in early February 2026. This updated mandate strengthens ETO's role in coordinating activities and delivering key project-wide outputs, including design reports, cost estimates, and risk assessments essential for site and geometry decisions. It establishes clearer authority, responsibilities, and reporting lines to ensure structured governance and accountability towards the ET Coordinators and BGR, while improving coordination with partners to integrate scientific, technical, and infrastructure contributions effectively. Enhanced project management responsibilities position ETO as a central driver of integration and delivery, supporting the transition to early implementation and potential creation of a formal legal entity, with the goal of meeting critical milestones by 2027 and beyond.
In December 2025, IFAE joined the ETO Funders Group. Other members are: INFN in Italy, Nikhef in the Netherlands, and FWO (Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) and Belspo (Belgian Science Policy Office) in Belgium. The ETO Funders Group officially started in December 2024, when a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to establish a joint ETO Fund, install the ETO Funders Group, and designate Nikhef as administrator of the fund.
The Einstein Telescope Organisation (ETO) has welcomed several new colleagues across various departments in the past few months. In the Engineering Department, we are pleased to welcome Lucas Hermida Peña, Denis Douillet, and Francesco Bianchi. Chiara Arina has joined the Director's Office to work on the in-kind personnel contribution framework, while Gabriele Capoccia and Massimiliano Bonesso have joined the Project Office to work on the Geometry Comparison Report. We also want to thank Max Majoor, who has moved on to a new opportunity outside of ETO.
In the past few months, ETO has organised, co-organised and attended various meetings. All meetings had the aim to bring stakeholders together. Topics of the meetings and workshops varied from early career advancement to sustainability and engineering. To give a sense of these activities, a selection of meetings is highlighted in the overview: