4. Emerging quantum technology components
Background and scope:
The focus of this Accelerator Challenge is on fostering innovation in the area of quantum information processing components. Europe is a global leader in research in quantum technologies. Translating this level of R&D excellence into market innovation is a strategic priority, but companies set up to do that mostly struggle to get the necessary funding to scale-up. Supporting European deep tech start-ups in the development of hardware components, including specific components for quantum technologies, is key for strengthening Europe’s technological sovereignty and is critical for transitioning innovations from lab to market. Quantum technologies represent a major paradigm shift of the way we develop devices at nanoscale. These novel technologies are expected to have significant effect on the entire European economy. Advancing innovation capabilities in the area of quantum technologies can increase the strategic innovation and engineering capacities of Europe, giving rise to a range of new products and business models. The latter will enable European companies to take a leading role in a market, which is expected to grow from EUR 1.7 billion in 2021 to EUR 94 billion by 2040 in an aggressive disruption scenario. This strategic area is particularly focused on the development of emerging, fault- tolerant quantum computing hardware components (e.g.,by using different types of qubits and a new methods for controlling them), quantum sensors that work in real environment, as well as quantum communication devices that can be deployed in a real environment for practical applications such as quantum repeaters, devices for quantum-based encryption etc. Innovation in any segment of the value chain for the development of quantum technology components is addressed. Quantum computing (QC) and quantum simulation has already attracted investments from large multinational companies and governmental research and innovation programmes. Yet, QC hardware still suffers from large error rates during computation. In addition, none of today’s solutions (and even proposed solutions and those demonstrated on a small scale), come close to the need for a control system that scales to many thousands of qubits. Quantum sensors have a very wide range of applications and have already made significant improvements in recent years in both quality and fabrication methods. However, large number of them can only operate in tightly controlled environment such as laboratories or very specific testbeds. Quantum communication is of crucial importance for ultra-secure communications and Europe needs to scale up the production of the underlying components and systems to deploy quantum-based infrastructures based on trusted European technology.
Specific objectives
The objective of this Challenge is to support ground-breaking innovations that have a high potential to develop:
- Full stack fault-tolerant quantum computing with:
- improved performance
- significantly simplified QPU (Quantum Processing Units) integration with control electronics
- scalable control systems (scalable to tens of thousands of qubits, needed for meaningful practical applications)
- software development
- Quantum sensing components to function in real/harsh environment for various application areas, such as ecotoxicology, pharmaceuticals, biomedical, space, corrosion detection in power plants, gas/oil tanks, raw material detection, medical imaging, automotive and many more.
- Quantum communication devices that can be deployed in a real environment such as quantum repeaters, devices for quantum-based encryption etc.
Expected outcomes and impacts
This Challenge is expected to support the EU in taking a leading role in the development of cutting-edge quantum computing/simulation and quantum sensing and quantum communications that can be used in real environment and deployed in various areas.
In mid and long term, this Challenge is expected to expand the quantum capabilities of Europe, underpin its economic resilience and digital sovereignty. It should pave the way for Europe to be at the cutting-edge of quantum capabilities by 2030 as envisioned by the 2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital Decade Policy Programme
Specific conditions
Any technology under this Challenge must be developed in a robust manner, paying specific attention to safety, security and ethics considerations in future applications. While the European Union has done a lot to respond to major technological challenges in recent years, in light of the risks that certain economic dependencies and technical evolutions can present, it now needs a comprehensive strategic approach to economic security, de-risking and promoting its technological edge in critical sectors.
[Quantum has been identified in the list of critical technology areas for the EU’s economic security and recommended for joint priority risk assessment.93 In order to safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security and to achieve the technological objectives and expected outcomes described above, the following additional eligibility condition applies:
- Beneficiaries and recipients of the grant component of Accelerator funding94 must not be directly or indirectly controlled by a non-associated third country or a legal entity established in a non-associated third country95.
Furthermore, in case of an investment support, specific safeguards may be introduced in the investment agreement (see Introduction, section on Economic Security).]
At least 30% of this budget will be allocated to the Quantum technology components and at least 30% to the semiconductor chip development areas. The remainder will be flexibly allocated to either area in function of the successful submissions.
Budget 50M€ (For challenge 3 & challenge 4)
At least 30% of this budget will be allocated to the Quantum technology components and at least 30% to the semiconductor chip development areas. The remainder will be flexibly allocated to either area in function of the successful submissions.
XXXEIC Accelerator: https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/eic-pathfinder_en