The Mid-infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph (METIS) is one the first three scientific instruments on ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). At the time of anticipated first light in 2025, METIS will provide diffraction limited imaging, coronagraphy and medium resolution slit spectroscopy in the 3-19 micrometers range, as well as high resolution (R approximately equals to 100, 000) integral field spectroscopy from 2.9-5.3 micrometers. The unique combination of these observing capabilities with an angular resolution of 0.020 sec, and the sensitivity provided by a 40m aperture, make METIS a very powerful tool to study the infrared sky - from objects in our Solar system, the Galactic center, brown dwarfs, evolved stars, and massive stellar clusters to active galactic nuclei (AGN), local starbursts, transient events, and luminous infrared galaxies at intermediate redshifts. Its main scientific focus, however, will be on the study of proto-planetary disks and exoplanets. In this paper, we describe the instrument concept and performance. We discuss the scientific performance of METIS with respect to AKARI, and elaborate on the relevance of the AKARI archive with respect to the METIS observing program.

METIS is one the first three instruments on the E-ELT. Apart from diffraction limited imaging, METIS will provide coronagraphy and medium resolution slit spectroscopy over the 3 - 19μm range, as well as high resolution (R ∼ 100,000) integral field spectroscopy from 2.9 - 5.3μm, including a mode with extended instantaneous wavelength coverage. The unique combination of these observing capabilities, makes METIS the ideal instrument for the study of circumstellar disks and exoplanets, among many other science areas. In this paper we provide an update of the relevant science drivers, the METIS observing modes, the status of the simulator and the data analysis. We discuss the preliminary design of the optical system, which is driven by the need to calibrate observations at thermal IR wavelengths on a six-mirror ELT. We present the expected adaptive optics performance and the measures taken to enable high contrast imaging. We describe the opto-mechanical system, the location of METIS on the Nasmyth instrument platform, and conclude with an update on critical subsystem components, such as the immersed grating and the focal plane detectors. In summary, the work on METIS has taken off well and is on track for first light in 2025.