Europe Looks to Quantum Act to Turn Research Strength Into Industry

Insider Brief - European quantum leaders called for coordinated action to turn the region’s scientific expertise into industrial capacity, competitive companies and strategic strength. - The proposed EU Quantum Act is expected to promote cooperation, market consolidation, supply-chain resilience and links with sectors such as semiconductors, photonics and cloud computing. - Speakers identified fragmented investment, limited coordination and competition for skilled workers as major obstacles to building a unified European quantum market. PRESS RELEASE — Europe’s quantum community gathered yesterday at the European Parliament for “Europe’s Quantum Moment: From Lab to Leadership”, an event hosted by MEP Dr. Sergey Lagodinskythat brought together representatives from the European Commission, European Council and European Parliament, as well as quantum researchers, business leaders and investors. The goal of this high-level discussion was to explore how the EU could transform its indisputable scientific expertise into lasting industrial and strategic strength. But the discussion, organized into two panels, quickly developed into a thrilling debate on the geopolitical and economic challenges Europe faces to consolidate its market, maintain its technological sovereignty and become a global leader in quantum technologies. The three-hour session was packed with specific proposals and overarching political and economic strategies that might help shape the upcoming Quantum Act, the new legislation on quantum technologies that the European Commission is expected to announce by the end of 2026. But the ambition went beyond technical aspects of the policy as well: “It’s not just a competition between business models, it’s a competition between societal models, and, in this competition, technology and leadership in the realm of innovation plays the role”, explained the MEP during his opening remarks. “If we are not capable to keep the leadership, then we are lost in the race between the offerings that politicians and economies are making to our citizens” From research excellence to industrial strength Quantum technologies are moving rapidly from scientific promise towards real-world applications, with growing implications for competitiveness, security, digital sovereignty and Europe’s ability to shape the next generation of critical technologies. During the first panel, —Shaping the EU Quantum Act: what should Europe’s Strategic Quantum Priorities be?—the speakers noted that Europe has built a world-class quantum research base, but to compete globally, it must do more to translate this scientific expertise into industrial capacity, successful companies and technological solutions that can be deployed across the Single Market. “We are uncontested leaders in quantum science,” stated Thomas Skordas, Deputy Director-General of DG CNECT at the European Commission, during his first intervention. The ambition now, he said, is to figure out how to scale up and bring together scientists, engineers and startups to translate that scientific excellence into competitive market opportunities that can compete with global leaders like the US, which is investing hundreds of millions in this type of technology. The panel was also quick to address the difficulty of investing and consolidating markets in a critical yet uncertain field: “You talk to scientists and they will tell you nothing is ready and a quantum computer is still 25 years away. You talk to some American media, and they say it’s for tomorrow. So, what is the reality then? How do we position ourselves?”, stressed the EC representative. “The reality is that, of course, we still need a lot of work, but we also see a super-emerging quantum ecosystem, not only in computing, but also in communications and in sensors, where some of the more mature markets are found today.” To face this, Cecile Perrault, Executive Director of the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC) highlighted the importance of nurturing some of Europe’s advantages, like its supply chain. “We’re not only buyers, we are suppliers”, she noted, “80% of the components that we find in quantum computers in Europe come from Europe. We have a huge advantage compared to other digital technologies there”. Perhaps the person who best summarized the problem was Tommaso Calarco, Secretary, EU High-Level Advisory Board on Quantum Technologies: “What do we need? We need critical mass. And critical mass means three things: It means cash, it means speed, and it means we do things together.” Shaping the EU Quantum Act The forthcoming Quantum Act —which Dr. Skordas described as more of an ‘enabling framework’ than a regulation—, is intended to help boost research and innovation, strengthen Europe’s industrial capacity and improve the resilience of the quantum supply chain. Against this backdrop, speakers discussed the steps Europe needs to take to build a genuinely integrated quantum ecosystem. “The act is not about budget. What the act will provide is the stimulus to make sure that we move in the right direction, that we bring people together”, explained the EC representative, who also confirmed that the European Commission hopes to present the new policy by the end of the year. Although the process is still in its early stages, it might end up being postponed until next year. In light of this, the speakers discussed different strategies and proposals to generate the right stimulus. In doing so, they highlighted the fragmented nature of Europe’s current quantum landscape, with expertise, companies and infrastructure spread across different Member States and technology areas. “We cannot afford having 78 startups all on their own”, said Dr. Skordas. “We don’t have Microsoft, we don’t have Google, we don’t have IBM… We want competition, but at some stage, we expect a little bit of consolidation”. Quantum technologies are highly capital-intensive, with facilities for fabrication and testing — for example — requiring investments that individual Member States cannot always provide alone. Also, without greater coordination at the European level, there is a risk that fragmented efforts will lead to duplication, unequal access and concentration of quantum capabilities in Europe’s more advanced ecosystems. “We need to break silos”, stressed the EC representative, “Quantum has to be combined with semiconductors, photonics, the cloud industry, the end users and many other technologies that are more mature and can win new markets”. Beyond fragmentation, speakers highlighted the need for stronger cooperation and supply chains between Member States, greater support for start-ups and established businesses, and the development of skills required to support the sector’s growth across the Union. “Member states and the Commission, they are not yet pooling their resources strategically to the extent that they should, and we cannot wait, ” summarized Prof. Calarco, who also sees fragmentation as a big issue. “This quantum act is the last train which is passing for Europe. We need to get it properly in terms of structuring, enabling, supporting, consolidation of industry, creating champions, etc.” Building a European quantum market The second panel discussion— Building Europe’s Quantum Market: Perspectives from Quantum Champions —turned towards the companies and technologies already emerging from Europe’s quantum ecosystem. Speakers noted that Europe already has a strong base to build on, with research groups and companies active across areas including quantum computing, sensing, photonics, cryogenics and software. The challenge now is to help these technologies move beyond the laboratory and into wider commercial use, while providing European companies with the conditions they need to grow and compete internationally. During this technical session, security became a central theme. As quantum technologies become increasingly important for strategically sensitive areas including cybersecurity, communications, defense and critical infrastructure, panelists highlighted the need to build security and supply-chain resilience into the ecosystem from the outset, while avoiding a patchwork of national restrictions that could further fragment the European market. They also highlighted the difficulty of maintaining sovereignty throughout the entire supply chain and the risk of being acquired when supplying and competing with big companies in the US and China. Another concern was talent. “We need software engineers, we need photonics people, we need physics people, we need product managers, we need all sorts of different profiles”, explained Prof. Eleni Diamanti, Co-founder and CSO, Welinq, and CNRS Research Director at Sorbonne University. “We need to make everything we can to bring this talent to Europe. For example, by giving opportunities and raising salaries” she added. “If we create global quantum champions in Europe, which is what I hope that is going to come out of the quantum act, then the talent will come. The talent goes where the global leaders are, not only where the money is” The discussion left many ideas to be considered at a higher level. But the ambition was clear. As Cecile Perrault, Executive Director of the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC), put it before the event: “Europe is often told to be realistic about its role in emerging technology, and to resign itself to a secondary one. In quantum, we can lead. We can supply ourselves. We can decide for ourselves”. From lab to leadership “There is urgency, there is a critical mass”, closed Prof. Calarco in his remarks, “but we have to get it together”. The overarching message from the day was clear: Europe already has many of the ingredients needed to lead in quantum. The challenge now is to turn those strengths into a connected, well-funded and resilient ecosystem capable of delivering industrial leadership on a European scale. “I think this is one of the biggest challenges that we, not only as a union, but also as a society, will be facing in the years to come”, said Dr. Skordas at the start of the session, “This is not my ambition; it is your ambition. If you are here, it’s because you want to make this ambition a reality”, he said, “That’s the challenge the whole community has to face”.