Einstein telescope : a real opportunity for the walloon SMEs

Anyone who thinks that the billion-dollar Einstein Telescope (ET) has nothing to do with regional SMEs/companies is mistaken: In March 2021, the new Euregional Initiative ET2SMEs was launched under the leadership of AGIT, the economic development agency of the Aachen region in Germany, and 6 Euregional partners, supported by the INTERREG VA Euregio Meuse-Rhine programme.

The aim of this project is to bring the Einstein Telescope, for which the extended Euregio Meuse-Rhine is competing with excellent chances in the ESFRI call, closer to the SMEs/companies of the region in particular, and to involve them directly in terms of technological development and economic exploitation. The most important concern is to stimulate innovation-oriented cross-border cooperation between technology-based companies and to produce targeted innovations that are significant not only for the Einstein telescope, but also for other demanding applications and markets.

But how can high-tech companies, start-ups or the land-use and construction industries benefit from a project that will not be operational until the 2030s?

"In all phases, from planning to construction to the regular operation of the facility, companies in the border region will be able to apply directly for tenders and thus for the many contracts involving the Einstein telescope," clarifies Annick Pierrard, who is in charge of the ET2SMEs project at the Interface Entreprises-Université de Liège. "However, our project initiative goes much further: we provide innovation vouchers worth between €25,000 and €50,000 for high-quality R&D projects on ET-relevant technologies launched across borders by at least two companies, including one SME.

But that's not all: interested companies will also receive direct assistance in expanding their business network to border countries, including finding the right SME/partner company. They will also have the opportunity to present their know-how and special skills in a virtual 3D model of the Einstein telescope. Technologies of particular interest for the operation of the Einstein Telescope are: cryogenics, vacuum, precision mechanics/mechatronics, sensors, optics and optical metrology, mirror coatings, lasers and advanced control algorithms.

However, many other technological skills in geology, tunneling technology, geophysical imaging and remote sensing, simulation and modelling, and water technologies are also required for underground exploration and construction of the facility, to name but a few.

Finally, companies have the opportunity to participate in an ET Industrial Advisory Board, jointly organised by E-TEST, ETpathfinder and ET2SMEs, between companies and research, for the large-scale installation, as a dialogue partner and advisor, now and in the years to come.

Three Walloon partners are directly involved in this project, each bringing their own expertise.

The Interface Entreprises-University of Liège, also coordinator of the E-TEST project, ensures the direct link between the two projects E-TEST and ET2SMEs and the joint activities, the communication, the establishment of the online catalogue of ET technologies, the management of the vouchers intended for SMEs and the good organisation of the joint ET Industrial Advisory Board to the different projects as well as its perpetuation beyond the end of the project.

Skywin, the Walloon aerospace cluster, ensures the coordination of the company mapping, which includes the piloting of the online tool proposed by Sowalfin, the dissemination of technological opportunities to Walloon actors, company visits, the creation of clusters grouping together actors active in the technologies required for the development of the Einstein telescope and the analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each of these technological clusters

Sowalfin,  partner of Walloon entrepreneurs, provides all EMR partners with an online tool for mapping and referencing regional skills, called the CRAFT Platform. The companies and research centers listed will thus have the opportunity to present their know-how and their particular skills in a virtual 3D model of the ET that this CRAFT technology allows. This is a great opportunity to expand your business network and a real chance to establish targeted contacts across borders.

The ET2SMEs value chain:

The Einstein Telescope is a unique research project with global impact that will place Europe at the forefront of a new research discipline worldwide: The latest and third generation gravitational wave observatory will produce fundamentally new information about the formation of the universe and the evolution of galaxies, stars and black holes.  This 'state-of-the-art' technology is not only associated with a quantum leap in the quality of European research. The investment for this large-scale research facility alone amounts to at least €1.7 billion, 500 direct and 1,150 indirect jobs will be created and a further €2 billion is estimated for its operation until 2080.

The extended Euregio Meuse-Rhine is, together with Sardinia (IT), the last region in Europe to apply for the installation of this facility. The telescope is to be built at a depth of about 300 m below the earth's surface, in a geological environment that is as undisturbed as possible, and will consist of a triangle with sides measuring 10 km. A final decision on the location is expected in 2024, and the facility is expected to be commissioned from 2032. Within the framework of the Flanders-Netherlands and Euregio Meuse-Rhine programmes, numerous initiatives and preparatory projects with a volume of around 45 million euros are already being implemented, including the construction and operation of an ET pilot facility in Maastricht (ETpathfinder), and the design and location studies for the basement and the construction of a prototype - a large suspended mirror at cryogenic temperature (10 Kelvin) (E-TEST).

Who is behind ET2SMEs?

Seven economic development and innovation agencies in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine are working closely together in ET2SMEs:

• The consortium is coordinated by AGIT mbH, the economic development agency of the Aachen region;
• In North Rhine-Westphalia, the national NanoMicroMaterialsPhotonics cluster, NMWP.NRW, is also actively involved.
• On the Dutch side, LIOF, the provincial economic development agency, is involved, and on the Flemish side, POM Limburg is similarly involved.
• In Wallonia, the Interface Entreprises-ULiège, the technology transfer office of the University of Liège, the aerospace cluster SKYWIN and SOWALFIN, partner of the Walloon entrepreneurs, are actively involved.
• The partners directly associated and/or supporting the project by letter of intent are the following: RWTH Aachen University, ZENIT GmbH, IHK Trier, SBP Bitburg-Prüm, WFG Vulkaneifel, PhotonDelta, Brainport Development, EEN, AGORIA, the MecaTech and Greenwin competitiveness clusters, SPI and WFG Ostbelgien

https://et2smes.eu ; info@et2smes.eu
 

We would like to thank the respective co-financing regions, which support the ET2SMEs project:

Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Innovation, Digitalisierung und Energie des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen DE, Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat NL, Provincie Limburg NL, regio Vlaanderen BE, Provincie Limburg BE and especially Wallonia BE which supports and co-finances the 3 Walloon partners with 40% of their budget.

The ET2SMEs project is being carried out under the Interreg V-A Euregio Meuse-Rhine programme, with 1.15 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). By investing European funds in Interreg projects, the European Union is investing directly in economic development, innovation, territorial development, social inclusion and education in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine.