On Tuesday, 31 January, the European Commission announced the publication of a report on the ramp-up phase of the flagship initiative on quantum technologies, which lasted from 2018 to 2022.
The report notes that the activities generated by the initiative led to the creation of 25 start-ups, the submission of 105 patents—64 of which were granted—and the publication of 1,313 scientific papers. Achievements concern quantum communication, quantum computing, quantum simulation, and quantum sensing and metrology, and basic quantum science.
The flagship initiative is expected to run for 10 years and mobilise €1 billion in public and private funding. Since 2016, the European Commission has emphasised that more than €175 million in European funding has been allocated to quantum research.
The initiative was followed by the founding of the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC). The deployment of quantum technologies in Europe started with the HPCQS hybrid project, which is funded by the EuroHPC joint undertaking (see EUROPE 13036/34).
The report points out the need to coordinate research at the EU and national levels given the scale of resources required for these projects.
On the industrial side of things, the report stresses the need to implement the European Chips Act so as to avoid competition from non-EU industrial champions by developing pilot lines dedicated to the design, manufacture, and testing of quantum chips.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/552 (Original version in French by Emilie Vanderhulst)