Spain selected to host one of Europe's first quantum computers thanks to the Quantum Spain programme promoted by the Government of Spain
News - 2022.10.11
The new infrastructure will be installed at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) and will be integrated into the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer, the most powerful in Spain and among the most advanced in Europe, in collaboration with the Institute of High Energy Physics (IFAE) and the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) in Portugal.
This milestone is one of the first results of the Quantum Spain programme, launched in 2021 by the Government of Spain through the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and coordinated by the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES). The programme boosts and fortifies the national Quantum Computing ecosystem and aims to strengthen its role in Europe and attract investment to our country, with initiatives such as the one now announced.
The BSC-CNS is a public consortium formed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC).
The new quantum computer to be installed at the BSC-CNS will have the potential to significantly increase the impact of research and innovation by enabling solutions that exceed the capabilities of current supercomputers.
The investment in Spain will amount to €12.5 million, 50% co-financed by the EU and the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.
The new European quantum computing network will be available in the second half of 2023, mainly for R&D purposes, to a wide range of users, including scientific communities, industry and the public sector, irrespective of where in the EU they are located. The infrastructure brings Europe closer to its digital goals for this decade, wherein the EU aims to be at the forefront of quantum capabilities, building on national programmes already underway in our country, such as Quantum Spain.
In addition to Spain, the other five countries selected by the EuroHPC JU were Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Italy and Poland. The new quantum computers will be integrated into existing supercomputers at the respective facilities, forming a large European network that guarantees users access to different quantum technologies and architectures. The BSC-CNS, like the other selected European facilities, will oversee the operation of the new quantum computer on behalf of the EuroHPC JU.
Potential applications of quantum computing
The new quantum computers will meet the growing demand for quantum computing resources and potential new services from European industry and research, adding new capabilities to the European supercomputing network. They are expected to be able to resolve complex problems more quickly in areas such as health, climate change, logistics and energy use.
Potential applications of quantum computing include optimisation of traffic flows and fundamental numerical problems in chemistry and physics for the development of new drugs and materials.
This is a purely European initiative, given that the new quantum computers will consist entirely of hardware and software developed in Europe, and it will use European technology funded by the EU or via national research programmes and private investment.
Quantum Spain
Quantum Spain aims to promote and finance a competitive and complete quantum computing infrastructure in Spain. The project will provide the current national quantum ecosystem with the necessary tools to develop a solid scientific and technological fabric around quantum computing and its applications in Artificial Intelligence.
To create a true quantum ecosystem in Spain and to make it as effective as possible, Quantum Spain has been designed in a decentralised way to reach the entire national territory. The project involves 25 centres located in 14 Autonomous Communities, most of them integrated in the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES), which will act as a channel to distribute the subsidy to all the participating entities. The National Supercomputing Centre, as coordinator of the RES, is responsible for managing the participation of all the entities.
Quantum Spain is an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation through the Secretariat of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence and financed with the NextGenerationEU funds from the Recovery Plan.
Non official translation