The Einstein Telescope (ET) will be the European Third-Generation (3G) Gravitational Wave (GW) Observatory, designed to observe the Universe by covering the whole spectrum observable from Earth with interferometric GW detectors. ET will put Europe at the forefront of the GW research being the first and most advanced 3G GW observatory. Europe will take the lead in the newborn multimessenger astronomy by combining information delivered by ET with optical, IR, UV, gamma, cosmic ray and neutrino telescopes observations. ET will impact on our fundamental physics knowledge, and our understanding of the fundamental interactions governing the evolution of black-holes and neutron stars.

The Preparatory Phase for the Einstein Telescope Gravitational Wave Observatory (ET-PP) is a Horizon Europe INFRA-DEV project supported by the European Commission that started on September 1st 2022 to address the fundamental prerequisites for the approval, construction and operation of the Einstein Telescope. The Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE) is the coordinator institution of this project that comprises leading research centers from 11 countries.

“The Horizon Europe INFRA-DEV ET-PP project is instrumental for defining the main pillars of the Einstein Telescope project: defining its governance and financial models, establishing a strong project office for the realization of a sustainable and eco-friendly infrastructure, increasing the social awareness, and paving the path towards a timely decision on its location." says Mario Martinez, ICREA researcher at IFAE and coordinator of the ET-PP project. “The coordination of the ET-PP project places Spain in a leading position in the global governance of a 2000M€ experiment with the potential to provide, via the precise study of millions of gravitational waves events, stringent tests of Einstein’s General Relativity and to revolutionize our understanding of the very early Universe and its evolution.”

The ET-PP project will run for 4 years with a total budget of 3.45M€. Its main objectives include the enlargement of the ET Consortium, the technical design and costing of the ET observatory and the preparation of the ET site selection, among others. A detailed summary of the project can be found in the projects website https://etpp.ifae.es/ .

The project’s launch took place in the kickoff meeting held in Barcelona on 19th and 20th July 2022.

ET-PP is a project supported by the European Commission Framework Programme Horizon Europe Coordination and Support action under grant agreement 101079696.