Quantum Experts Present Roadmap to EU Policymakers

Quantum experts from the EU’s Quantum Flagship initiative met with policymakers and representatives to present the Strategic Research and Industry Agenda SRIA 2030: Roadmap and Quantum Ambitions over this Decade. Themes in the roadmap include economic and technological sovereignty with calls to strengthen the EU’s role as a global player in quantum technology.

The document outlines a strategy for Europe to build an autonomous ecosystem for scientific and industrial applications in the quantum space, with thousands of researchers, a robust workforce, and the highest level of public funding for quantum technologies in the world, according to Quantum Flagship.

Coordinated by the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) within the Quantum Flagship's QUCATS coordination and support action, the roadmap, supported by specific recommendations for future programs, seeks to merge numerous quantum agendas from research, industrialization, computing, and communication to co-exist in a single coherent strategy.

(From left) Salvatore Cinà, coordinator of the SRIA and program director for quantum technologies at CEAtech; Jürgen Mlynek, chair of the Quantum Flagship strategic advisory board; Thomas Skordas, deputy director-general of the Directorate — General Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT); and Philippe Grangier, coordinator of QUCATS; head of the quantum optics group at Institut d’Optique and a professor at École Polytechnique. Courtesy of Quantum Flagship.

The collective investment from EU quantum initiatives now exceeds €5.7 billion ($6.1 billion) over the past five years. The SRIA integrates and aligns all these initiatives within a coherent strategy for Europe designed to enable the European Commission to optimize future quantum investments.

“By consolidating our research efforts and forging strong links between academia and industry, we are poised to lead in quantum technologies globally. With contributions from more than 300 experts, the SRIA defines the strategy and the roadmap for Europe in Quantum Technologies,” said Salvatore Cinà, coordinator of the SRIA and program director for quantum technologies at CEAtech.

The completion of the agenda follows the recent European Declaration on Quantum Technologies in December 2023. To date, 14 EU member states have signed the declaration.