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The Quantum Flagship is a large-scale, long-term research initiative bringing together research institutions, industry and public funders to foster the development of a competitive quantum industry in Europe. It is one of the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) flagships, set up by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The Flagship will run for 10 years with a budget of €1 billion funded by the European Commission.
The initiative aims to take quantum technologies outside the lab with a long term goal of developing a "Quantum Web". An interconnected quantum communication network made up of quantum computers, simulators, and sensors.
The Quantum Flagship was announced at the Quantum Europe Conference in Amsterdam in May 2016 and launched on October 29th, 2018.
The Flagship's initial 3-year ramp-up phase (October 2018 - September 2021) selected 20 projects for funding. Each project is structured around four research and innovation domains, representing the major applied areas in the field:
- Quantum Communication - Securely transmitting data using a quantum network.
- Quantum Simulation - Using models of quantum systems to understand specific complex problems.
- Quantum Metrology and Sensing - Developing advanced measurement technologies.
- Quantum Computing - harnessing the power of quantum mechanics for computing power to solve problems beyond classical computers.
These four fields will be built on top of a common basis of basic science.
A total of €132 million was awarded for the initial ramp-up phase, €110 million assigned to the four research areas, €20 million for basic science, and €2 million for coordination and support action.
The first call for projects was published in fall 2017, 141 proposals were submitted. Following peer-reviewed evaluations, the 20 projects selected for funding are:
- OpenSuperQ
- AQTION
- 2D-SIPC
- S2QUIP
- QMiCS
- SQUARE
- PhoG
- PhoQuS
- MicroQC
- QFLAG
