The call for tenders aimed at companies for the construction of the ET-SUnLab (Einstein Telescope Sardinia Underground Laboratory) research center has been published in the EU Official Journal. The center will be built in the area of the Sos Enattos mine (in Lula, Nuoro province), which is a candidate site to host the Einstein Telescope (ET) gravitational wave observatory. The project is funded with approximately €10 million by the Sardinia Region, with an equal amount contributed by the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), and the National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). On December 15, a concession agreement was signed in Cagliari granting INFN, INAF, and INGV free use of a 13,000-square-meter area owned by IGEA s.p.a. for the construction of SUnLab.
«We are moving from words to action», commented the President of the Region, Alessandra Todde. «The creation of the ET-SUnLab research center, along with the recent announcement of the opening of an INGV office in Nuoro, demonstrates how even the candidacy to host the Einstein Telescope has direct effects on our communities. The center, which will be established and operate regardless of the outcome of the site selection, will bring dozens of researchers to settle in the area, with benefits for the local economy and development».
«The SUnLab project represents the first concrete step toward the future Einstein Telescope gravitational wave observatory, which will bring a multidisciplinary center to the candidate site of Sos Enattos in Sardinia, open to research institutions and universities», emphasized INFN President Antonio Zoccoli. «It will be a place with unique characteristics, where cutting-edge technologies required for ET can be developed and tested, attracting young researchers and creating a new high-level scientific community. SUnLab will also be a space for participation and dialogue between the scientific community, industry, and civil society, aiming to foster engagement with the territory, essential on the path toward the Einstein Telescope».
«INAF is also participating in the construction of the laboratory for the development of technologies aimed at the construction and operation of the Einstein Telescope», said INAF President Roberto Ragazzoni. «With our strong presence in the region, including our important section managing the Sardinia Radio Telescope – a 64 meters radio telescope in San Basilio, Cagliari – we are bringing to SUnLab two of the best technologies developed by INAF and recognized worldwide: the control of ‘smart’ mirrors and the development of a prototype of the large-field MezzoCielo telescope. With the former, after eliminating atmospheric turbulence in traditional telescopes, we will improve the sensitivity of the interferometers used in the Einstein Telescope; with the latter, we intend to build a generation of instruments capable of observing the optical counterparts of gravitational waves in real time, a new chapter in the era of multi-messenger astronomy».
«ET-SUnLab will be a reference point for Earth sciences and geophysical monitoring», said INGV President Fabio Florindo. «The infrastructure will allow us to deepen knowledge of the planet’s deep structure, geodynamics processes, and local seismic noise, leveraging a site with unique geophysical characteristics. For INGV, SUnLab represents an opportunity to integrate advanced observations and technologies, contributing to national and European scientific research and supporting the Italian candidacy for the Einstein Telescope».
The project includes the construction of a visitor center and new research laboratories in the area occupied by the former RI.MI.SA. building, the current site of the SAR-GRAV laboratory, and the creation of a multidisciplinary underground laboratory. SUnLab, whose activities will also involve the Universities of Cagliari and Sassari, will host research and development activities for ET and low-noise physics experiments, as well as a geophysical observatory for studying the Earth’s internal structures and a large-aperture terrestrial telescope called “MezzoCielo”. The facility will also become a reference center for educational outreach projects aimed at schools and professional training. The architectural and landscape design was developed by a working group from the AT Lab of the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering (DICAAR) at the University of Cagliari, coordinated by Professor Massimo Faiferri.
The tender deadline is April 16, 2026. Construction is scheduled to begin in early summer 2026, with completion expected by the end of 2027.