Horizon based scheme invests €3.2 million in boosting Europe’s quantum research
13 Jan 2025
A four year project intended to boost Europe’s role in quantum research has secured €3.2 million from Horizon Europe.
EQUSPACE (Enabling New Quantum Frontiers with Spin Acoustics in Silicon), which aims to establish a complete silicon-based quantum information system, received its money via the Innovation Council’s Pathfinder Open funding programme, part of the Horizon scheme.
It was one of just 45 recipients out of an initial 1110 funding applications to the programme, which invests in multidisciplinary consortia for early-stage projects that have the potential to create new markets and address global changes.
Led by Finland’s University of Jyväskylä, the consortium includes Finnish startup SemiQon Oy and three other institutes: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V. in Germany, and NWO Institute AMOLF in the Netherlands.
“Awarding the coordination responsibilities of international research projects to the University of Jyväskylä shows the high level of our research. This funding will significantly strengthen the already strong field of quantum research at our university,” says dean of Jyväskylä’s Faculty of Mathematics and Science Mikko Mönkkönen.
Consortium coordinator professor Juha Muhonen said the project will develop a platform that utilises quantum bits based on impurity atoms implanted in silicon – developing scalable methods for reading ‘silicon qubits’ by employing commercial quantum dots and connecting them via nanomechanical resonators.
“The long-term goal is to enable the use of the qubits in quantum computing and quantum sensing, while creating a Europe-wide ecosystem for the quantum technology platform,” said Muhonen.
Although silicon is used in traditional information processing, it is not the primary material in quantum information processing. While silicon spin qubits have already been shown to have excellent single-qubit properties, there is no convenient coupling and readout mechanisms for scaling up to a practical level, say the researchers.
“The EQUSPACE project provides an interdisciplinary approach to the immediate challenge by bringing together a unique team of leading experts from the fields of spin qubits, optomechanics, and atom-scale modification of silicon,” added Muhonen.
“Nowadays, this platform is primarily being developed in Canada and Australia. And, of course, also China and the U.S. are generally ahead in quantum technologies. Projects like EQUSPACE are critical for Europe to keep pace in today’s global quantum race.”
Photo: Innovate UK
