Source: Sardegna Ricerche, 17/02/2026
From the mines of Lula to the frontiers of quantum physics. Sardegna Ricerche launches a €4 million call to involve local SMEs into the Einstein Telescope (ET) supply chain. The goal is to transform regional businesses into official suppliers of the world’s largest gravitational-wave detector, an opportunity to develop components and enabling technologies (KETs) ready to be exported to the global high-tech market.
The call, funded by European resources under the PR FESR Sardinia 2021–2027 programme, offers non-repayable grants ranging from €20,000 to €200,000 to cover the costs of specialized technical staff, the purchase of machinery, and advanced consultancy services, through two tracks:
- K-PRO: to innovate products and processes through enabling technologies (microelectronics, photonics, advanced materials, nanotechnologies);
- ET-TECH: dedicated to developing solutions specifically addressing the technical challenges of the Einstein Telescope.
Given its ambitious objectives, the call was developed with the support of scientists from INFN (the National Institute for Nuclear Physics) and in coordination with the Steering Committee for the Einstein Telescope in Sardinia.
«With this call we are not merely financing the purchase of machinery or services; we are building the intangible infrastructure of Sardinia’s future», says Carmen Atzori, Director General of Sardegna Ricerche. «We want our companies not to be spectators, but active protagonists of this revolution, capable of developing cutting-edge technologies that will be applied at Sos Enattos and exported worldwide».
«Investing in innovation means making a clear political choice: strengthening Sardinian businesses and guiding them toward advanced technological value chains. The call just published goes exactly in this direction, because it supports companies and gives them the conditions to grow, specialize, and apply to become technological partners of a major international scientific infrastructure», stated the Regional Councillor for Planning, Giuseppe Meloni. «The Einstein Telescope represents an extraordinary opportunity for the development of our island and its role in the world: it is precisely through calls like this that we create new job opportunities, enhance local areas, and connect them to major global technological networks».
«The Einstein Telescope is not only a major scientific project, but a true engine of innovation», added Alessandro Cardini, Director of the INFN Cagliari Section. «Its construction will require cutting-edge technologies that will open new opportunities for the entire research and business ecosystem. Sardinia plays a leading role in this challenge, thanks to the candidacy of the Sos Enattos area. We are grateful to Sardegna Ricerche and the Sardinia Region for this call, which will enable Sardinian companies to contribute directly to this great scientific and technological endeavor».
The application portal will officially open at 12:00 p.m. on March 25, 2026, and will remain open until December 31, 2027, subject to the availability of funds.