Promoting excellent research and innovation in quantum technologies
The QuantERA network has revealed the winners of its 2023 call for research proposals in the domain of quantum technology (QT). The funding received will enable the 24 winning project consortia to investigate new research ideas that could bring about revolutionary changes in fields ranging from medicine and meteorology to banking and telecommunications. Launched in 2014, the QuantERA programme is a leading European network of public research funding organisations from 31 countries, created to support excellent research and innovation in QTs. The programme currently continues within the EU-funded QuantERA II project that is building on the successes of its predecessor QuantERA I (2016-2022). QuantERA II is meeting the growing need for collaborative endeavours and common funding schemes in the highly interdisciplinary QT sphere.
The winning 24
The 2023 QuantERA call for proposals was issued by 35 funding organisations from 28 countries. The 24 proposals submitted by 122 international research teams were selected from 101 proposals submitted by 486 teams. The successful projects recommended for funding of over EUR 29 million will cover two topics: quantum phenomena and resources (QPR) and applied quantum science (AQS). QPR focuses on laying the foundations for the QT of the future and AQS on converting quantum effects and established concepts in quantum science into technological applications and developing new products. The research areas covered are quantum communication, quantum simulation, quantum computation, quantum information sciences, and quantum metrology sensing and imaging. Recognising that the highly interdisciplinary nature of QT research does not allow it to be confined to an individual institution or state, the QuantERA programme focuses on collaborative endeavours and funding. Consequently, the 15 QPR-related projects – coordinated by institutions based in Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, Croatia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Poland and Slovakia – are funded by organisations from Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. For the nine AQS-related projects coordinated by institutions based in Austria, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom (UK), funding is being received from organisations in Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK. “QuantERA Call 2023 received large numbers of high quality proposals both in the fundamental topic ‘Quantum Phenomena and Resources’ and the translational topic ‘Applied Quantum Science’,” states QuantERA programme scientific coordinator Prof. Konrad Banaszek in a news item posted on the QuantERA website. “The list of funded projects clearly illustrates the spectacular potential of quantum science and technology when it comes to proposing exciting new research ideas as well as identifying paths towards translating scientific results into technological applications and development of new products. The QuantERA programme is a unique funding mechanism in its ability to support collaborative research efforts combining expertise across traditional scientific disciplines available in Europe and beyond.”
Knowledge and challenges
QuantERA also participated in the organisation of the Conference on Quantum Technologies in Europe held in Madrid on 22 and 23 November 2023 under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The conference offered QT researchers, managers and practitioners the opportunity to share their knowledge and discuss the challenges facing the development of QTs in Europe. The QuantERA II (QuantERA II ERA-NET Cofund in Quantum Technologies) project ends in 2026. For more information, please see: QuantERA project website
Keywords
QuantERA II, quantum, quantum technology, call for proposals, research, research and innovation
