‘This project will be a benchmark’
What is the best place and technique to build the underground facility for the Einstein Telescope? From 9-15 May 2025, our civil engineer Patricia Lamas (Amberg Engineering) presented the intricate work of designing the best tunnel complex for the Einstein Telescope to her peers at the World Tunnel Congress in Stockholm.
At the World Tunnel Congress 2025 in Swedish Stockholm, visitors don’t bat an eye at complex underground projects. But even here the Einstein Telescope stands out, says civil engineer Patricia Lamas (Amberg Engineering). As deputy manager of the EMC2 consortium, she helps coordinate the intricate feasibility study for the underground facility in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine.
Technical challenge with social impact
Identifying the most suitable rock layers to host the facility, deciding on the right type of entrance, managing water drainage and advising on the construction techniques to build the large underground caverns for the Einstein Telescope: Patricia Lamas and her colleagues in the EMC2 consortium have their work cut out for them.
The work of the collaboration of Amberg Engineering, TEC, the Lombardi Group and Tractebel builds on the geological studies that were performed in 2024. Not only does the consortium need to identify the most stable locations for where to construct the underground caverns, auxiliary spaces and tunnels, they also need to make sure the resulting facility can house the world’s most sensitive scientific equipment.
“The technical side of the project alone is mindblowing”, explains Spanish Patricia Lamas A civil engineer from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, she is an expert in complex tunnel projects across Europe like the Grand Paris Express extension of the Paris Métro. There as well as for the Einstein Telescope, her work has brought together technical and societal aspects.
“A project of this size automatically attracts and impacts many different groups, from governments to environmental organisations and residents. You need to keep a sharp eye on the human side of the project to be successful.”
Optimum scenario
Success, in this case, means finding the best possible corner sites and tunnel paths for the Einstein Telescope’s underground observatory, satisfying a myriad of technical and societal requirements. “On the technical side, perfectly flat tunnels without a slope mean we have to design another way to drain water. Respecting local residents or a nature reserve might encouraging the study of a solution based on sloping access tunnel over a straight shaft. And of course we keep the budget in mind. Only with a proper inventory can you plan ahead for all that.”
How do you keep track of all those constraints? Through 2025, Lamas and her colleagues are making a detailed overview of all the requirements on the facility. “This year is when we define a limited number of possible scenarios that can ensure the facility can be constructed in a feasible way and accomodate the scientific requirements for best performance.”
After completion, the proposed scenarios will be checked against all the constraints, technical and other. The best option will be detailed even further so that the bidbook for the Euregio Meuse-Rhine has the strongest possible case to be chosen as the site for the Einstein Telescope, including world-class underground facilities. Lamas: “Can we stretch the boundaries of technology, limit our environmental footprint and enhance our engineering through cutting-edge innovation? If we get it right, the Einstein Telescope will be a benchmark for future projects.”
