Overview
- The letter of intent was signed in Rome by Sardinia’s President Alessandra Todde, with Saxony’s Minister-President Michael Kretschmer having signed earlier and Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow in attendance.
- The agreement commits both sides to support each other’s application and to establish a joint scientific consortium for the project.
- Planners are assessing both a single underground equilateral-triangle observatory and a potential split into two L‑shaped detectors that could be shared between the regions.
- Three candidate areas remain under evaluation: Lausitz in Saxony, the island of Sardinia, and the Euregio Maas–Rhein cross-border region, with seismic quietness a key factor.
- The Einstein Telescope aims to measure gravitational waves to study black-hole collisions and the early universe, and the selection process is ongoing with no host yet chosen and significant funding at stake.