Periodic Reporting for period 1 - QUCATS (Quantum Flagship Coordination Action and Support)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-05-01 bis 2023-10-31
Quantum Technologies (QT) are now developing quickly and broadly in Europe, and the QT Flagship launched in 2018 is part of a larger Quantum Fleet. This evolution goes together with a reinforcement of the move from the lab to realworld applications, and to industry involvement towards potential markets. The QUCATS CSA is designed to accompany this transition, with the main goals to foster an open and inclusive ecosystem at the European and international levels, to contribute to the development of QT benchmarks and standards, and to step-up training and education of a quantum aware workforce. These outcomes will be reached through the execution of five Work Packages, and their expected impacts will be to preserve the ownership sense built by the previous QT initiatives, now enlarged from labs to the European quantum industry; to make sure that a plurality of voices is consulted and heard, delivering a consistent scientific and political message on critical QT-related issues; and to guarantee that the new phase of the QT Flagship will be validated and supported by the largest possible scientific and industry community. This smart openness will make Europe more attractive for foreign companies, avoiding at the same time the move of QT companies to countries outside it. Particular attention will be brought to the coordination and development of international QT standards and regulations, and to new educational programs on a European scale, able to train QT specialists, well skilled to make progress in the current Flagship phase and beyond it. Ultimately, the goal of QUCATS is to keep the whole European QT initiative on the path towards a full success on a global scale.
The Work Package (WP) 1, Strategy and growth, is divided in three tasks, T1.1: Strategic Roadmaps, T1.2: Ecosystem Growth, T1.3: Synergies and funding.
Major result in T1.1: delivery of a new Strategic Research and Industry Agenda (SRIA) in December 2023. Its merges the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) published during the previous CSA QFlag and the Strategic Industry Roadmap (SIR) published within QUCATS in May 2023.A preliminary draft SRIA was published in November 2022. In T1.2 a methodology was developed to map quantum supply chains and help identify bottlenecks and weaknesses, but also EU strengths. The Flagship Widening Work Group, including members from the QCN, SAB and QCB, carried out studies showing significant imbalance of funding to WEU15 countries. In T1.3 meetings of the European National Quantum Initiatives (NQIs) were launched, involving government representatives from member states. Connections between member states and the EC have been strengthened and used for a first trilateral call (DE, FR and NL), to serve as the basis for multilateral expansion. A major task of WP1 is also to monitor and maintain KPIs for QT in Europe. After publishing the KPI values for 2021 and 2022, the measurement survey for 2023 has been launched in December 2023.
The WP 2, Outreach and cooperation, is divided in three tasks, T2.1: Communication, dissemination and outreach, T2.2: International cooperation, and T2.3: Fostering regulatory and investments frameworks.
T2.1 is about communication activities and is not meant to be reported in this section. See the Tech. Part B for a complete report. In T2.2: creation of the EU working groups for the Trade & Technology Council, organization of bilateral discussions between the EC and selected countries among the United States, South Korea, Japan, and India. In addition, QuIC worked on establishing an industry-industry relationship with the consortium in the United States, in Japan, and in South Korea.
The WP 3, Standardization and uses cases, is divided in three tasks, T3.1: Intellectual property on quantum technologies in Europe, T3.2: Standardisation of quantum technologies in Europe, and T3.3: Impactful use cases of quantum technologies.
In T3.1: TUBS and VTT have planned a course on IP, consisting of six on-line training modules, starting in Dec. 2023. It targets both SMEs or academics without dedicated IP support team, and IP lawyers without specific quantum related knowledge. InT3.2: QUCATS was strongly involved in the creation of the CEN/CENELEC JTC22 joint technical committee. This JTC is a key step to establish a market for quantum technologies in Europe. In T3.3: the partners developed connections with national initiatives, exploring the possibility of coordinating the benchmarking activities at European level.
The WP 4, Workforce development, is divided in three tasks T4.1: Strategic Infrastructures for Workforce development, T4.2: Standards for Workforce Development, and T4.3: Fostering Quantum Careers.
In T4.1: creation of the European Quantum Readiness Center (EQRC) with the goal of creating a roadmap for quantum technologies education based on three pillars which are industry needs analysis, open resources, and adoption of best practices. In T4.2: publication of the version 2.0 of the European Competence Framework for Quantum Technologies in April 2023. In T4.3: interviews of more than 30 industry representatives to analyze industry needs and existing training programmes, and develop best practices. The outcome of those interview was used to feed the QTIndu EU project, focusing on upskilling.
The WP 5 – Project management and support to EC policies is divided in three tasks, T5.1: Project management, T5.2: Support to EC policies & quantum activities, and T5.3: Wide access to quantum.
In T5.1: coordination of all project activities at consortium level, through the organization of regular project meetings, supervision of the progress, identification of project adjustments. Organization of the weekly meetings of the Flagship Coordination Office (FCO). In T5.2: administrative support to Flagship governing bodies, namely the Strategic Advisory Board (SAB), the Quantum Coordination Board (QCB), the Quantum Community Network (QCN), and the European Commission. In Task 5.3: organization of five ‘training sessions for policy makers’ from June to December 2023.
Major result in T1.1: delivery of a new Strategic Research and Industry Agenda (SRIA) in December 2023. Its merges the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) published during the previous CSA QFlag and the Strategic Industry Roadmap (SIR) published within QUCATS in May 2023.A preliminary draft SRIA was published in November 2022. In T1.2 a methodology was developed to map quantum supply chains and help identify bottlenecks and weaknesses, but also EU strengths. The Flagship Widening Work Group, including members from the QCN, SAB and QCB, carried out studies showing significant imbalance of funding to WEU15 countries. In T1.3 meetings of the European National Quantum Initiatives (NQIs) were launched, involving government representatives from member states. Connections between member states and the EC have been strengthened and used for a first trilateral call (DE, FR and NL), to serve as the basis for multilateral expansion. A major task of WP1 is also to monitor and maintain KPIs for QT in Europe. After publishing the KPI values for 2021 and 2022, the measurement survey for 2023 has been launched in December 2023.
The WP 2, Outreach and cooperation, is divided in three tasks, T2.1: Communication, dissemination and outreach, T2.2: International cooperation, and T2.3: Fostering regulatory and investments frameworks.
T2.1 is about communication activities and is not meant to be reported in this section. See the Tech. Part B for a complete report. In T2.2: creation of the EU working groups for the Trade & Technology Council, organization of bilateral discussions between the EC and selected countries among the United States, South Korea, Japan, and India. In addition, QuIC worked on establishing an industry-industry relationship with the consortium in the United States, in Japan, and in South Korea.
The WP 3, Standardization and uses cases, is divided in three tasks, T3.1: Intellectual property on quantum technologies in Europe, T3.2: Standardisation of quantum technologies in Europe, and T3.3: Impactful use cases of quantum technologies.
In T3.1: TUBS and VTT have planned a course on IP, consisting of six on-line training modules, starting in Dec. 2023. It targets both SMEs or academics without dedicated IP support team, and IP lawyers without specific quantum related knowledge. InT3.2: QUCATS was strongly involved in the creation of the CEN/CENELEC JTC22 joint technical committee. This JTC is a key step to establish a market for quantum technologies in Europe. In T3.3: the partners developed connections with national initiatives, exploring the possibility of coordinating the benchmarking activities at European level.
The WP 4, Workforce development, is divided in three tasks T4.1: Strategic Infrastructures for Workforce development, T4.2: Standards for Workforce Development, and T4.3: Fostering Quantum Careers.
In T4.1: creation of the European Quantum Readiness Center (EQRC) with the goal of creating a roadmap for quantum technologies education based on three pillars which are industry needs analysis, open resources, and adoption of best practices. In T4.2: publication of the version 2.0 of the European Competence Framework for Quantum Technologies in April 2023. In T4.3: interviews of more than 30 industry representatives to analyze industry needs and existing training programmes, and develop best practices. The outcome of those interview was used to feed the QTIndu EU project, focusing on upskilling.
The WP 5 – Project management and support to EC policies is divided in three tasks, T5.1: Project management, T5.2: Support to EC policies & quantum activities, and T5.3: Wide access to quantum.
In T5.1: coordination of all project activities at consortium level, through the organization of regular project meetings, supervision of the progress, identification of project adjustments. Organization of the weekly meetings of the Flagship Coordination Office (FCO). In T5.2: administrative support to Flagship governing bodies, namely the Strategic Advisory Board (SAB), the Quantum Coordination Board (QCB), the Quantum Community Network (QCN), and the European Commission. In Task 5.3: organization of five ‘training sessions for policy makers’ from June to December 2023.
Non applicable, QUCATS is not a research and development project.