The border area between Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany has been considered for years as a potential site for the underground gravitational wave observatory. Construction is expected to cost at least €2 billion.
In 2022, the Dutch government already earmarked €870 million from its National Growth Fund for the construction of the detector in the border area. Commitments from the two other countries were slower in coming. “The enthusiasm for the project still needs to filter through to political circles”, Stan Bentvelsen, scientific director of the Einstein Telescope EMR Project Office, told Observant at the time. He noted that a bid without German and Belgian support would be unlikely to succeed.
Belgium now appears to be fully on board. Late last year, the Flemish government announced it would set aside €200 million for the detector. Wallonia is now following suit – a welcome development in light of recent geological surveys suggesting the entire structure could end up being located on Walloon soil.
The German federal government has yet to make a concrete financial commitment, but did include the Einstein Telescope on its priority list of major scientific projects this summer, without indicating a preferred site. The eastern German state of Saxony is also competing to host the detector.
A final decision on where the observatory will be built is expected by 2027 at the latest, when a working group of European countries will select a site. Alongside the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion and Saxony, the Italian island of Sardinia also remains in the running.