Luzern Invests 2.8 Million in New ETH GeoLab Center

ETH Zurich is establishing the ETH Swiss GeoLab, an interdisciplinary competence center for Earth observation, in the municipality of Root within the Canton of Lucerne. The center will be located at the D4 Business Village, a site selected following a competitive evaluation process that included 46 proposals submitted by November 2025.

The establishment of the GeoLab is supported by a 100 million Swiss franc donation from the Jörg G. Bucherer-Foundation, spanning the next ten years. The Canton of Lucerne is contributing 2.8 million Swiss francs to support the project.

Strategic Location and Infrastructure

ETH Zurich selected the D4 Business Village due to its immediate availability of scalable and versatile space and its proximity to Technopark Luzern. The location is positioned within an active innovation ecosystem designed to facilitate collaboration between the research center, tech companies, and start-ups.

The site offers strong public transport links, located less than one hour by train from the ETH Campus in Zurich. The selection process was supported by Lucerne Business, a Public-Private-Partnership organization, which shortlisted seven candidates for detailed examination in January 2026 before the final decision was made.

Research Objectives and Technological Scope

The ETH Swiss GeoLab will integrate data from ground-based, airborne, and satellite observations. The center will employ high-performance computers and AI-driven analysis methods to create solutions for environmental and agricultural challenges, including harvest forecasts for agriculture and the early detection of natural disasters.

The center’s first pilot project focuses on the early detection of mass movements, such as landslides and rockfalls, utilizing satellite data. This initiative is conducted in collaboration with the Federal Office for the Environment and the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research.

we want to optimize these cantonal and local early detection systems where possible and expand them to the whole of the Swiss Alps

ETH Professor Verena Griess

Operational Timeline and Scale

ETH Zurich expects to open the new location in the summer of 2026. The facility will begin operations with a core group, which will be gradually supplemented by additional teams arriving to conduct specific research projects.

The GeoLab is projected to reach its full operational size by approximately 2030. At that stage, the site will employ roughly 100 specialists, primarily working on a project basis.

The center is led by co-directors ETH Professor Verena Griess and ETH Professor Thomas Zurbuchen. Dr. Felix Seidel, the Managing Director of ETH Swiss GeoLab, noted that the Business Village environment provides ideal conditions for a new research centre that plans to work with start-ups and tech companies from the outset.

Fabian Peter, Director of Economic Affairs for the Canton of Lucerne and member of the Lucerne Cantonal Council, stated that the arrival of the GeoLab creates an innovation cluster around the Business Village and Technopark that will benefit Central Switzerland and the Canton of Lucerne.