Thanks to the Quantum Spain program, Spain has been selected to host the first quantum computer in Europe

The Government of Spain has promoted the creation of an entire quantum computing ecosystem in the country, called Quantum Spain. Recently, the European Union’s supercomputing consortium has chosen the Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) as one of the six centers that will host one of the first quantum computers in Europe in 2023. Do you want to know more? Here we tell you all about it.

What is the Quantum Spain program?

Before telling you why Spain has been chosen to host the first quantum computer in Europe, we believe it is important that you first learn about the Quantum Spain program.

The Quantum Spain program is a quantum computing ecosystem in Spain, which is also the first in southern Europe. 

Quantum Spain was created after the Council of Ministers approved a grant of 22 million euros. However, it is expected to reach 60 million euros of investment through various European public and private initiatives.

This project, which will involve 25 universities and supercomputer infrastructure centers in 14 autonomous communities, aims to promote and finance a competitive and complete quantum computing infrastructure in Spain.

Since its purpose is to create a true and efficient quantum ecosystem in Spain, Quantum Spain was designed in a decentralized way. This will allow it to reach all corners of the national territory.

Finally, the participating universities and Autonomous Communities will act as grant channelers. In turn, the National Supercomputing Center, as coordinator of the RES, will be in charge of managing the participation of all the entities.

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Spain has been selected to host the first quantum computer thanks to Quantum Spain program

Spain will be one of six countries in Europe selected by the EU Supercomputing Consortium to host and operate the first EuroHPC quantum computers.

This new infrastructure will be installed at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center -Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS)- and will be integrated with the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer. It is the most powerful in Spain and one of the most advanced in Europe. All in collaboration with the Institute of Physics and High Energies (IFAE) and the Iberian International Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) in Portugal.

This major milestone is one of the first results of the Quantum Spain program, which seeks to boost the national quantum computing ecosystem and attract investment to the country with initiatives such as the one we are now telling you about.

This new quantum computer will have the potential to significantly increase the impact of research and innovation to enable the development of solutions that exceed the capabilities of today’s supercomputers.

It is worth mentioning that the investment in Spain will amount to 12.5 million euros. 50% will be confined by the EU and the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

When will it be available?

The new European quantum computing network is expected to be available in the second half of 2023. It is also expected that its R&D purposes will be exploited by a wide range of users, scientific communities, industries and even the public sector regardless of their location in the EU.

This new infrastructure puts Europe much closer to its digital goals for this decade. Let’s not forget that it aims to be at the forefront of quantum capabilities, building on national programs that have already started within Spain.

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Which other countries were chosen to host the new quantum computer?

Spain was one of the 6 countries chosen to host the new quantum computer. But which are the other 5? Well, Germany, France, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic were also selected by EuroHPC.

The new computers will be installed on existing supercomputers in their respective facilities. In this way, a large European network can be created that will guarantee users access to different quantum technologies and architectures.

How can the new quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence be used?

One of the things that makes Quantum Spain’s proposal more interesting is that it does not seek to gain recognition by buying hardware from third countries, but rather by developing its own technology. It seeks independence and a way to maintain technological and economic sovereignty in the hands of Spain.

The new quantum computers will be able to meet the growing demand for existing quantum computing resources, as well as new services from European industry and research.

It is hoped that with the help of this supercomputer, problems in the areas of healthcare, climate change, energy use and logistics can be solved more quickly.

These are some of the possible applications of this supercomputer. Also, its uses include the optimization of traffic flows and the resolution of fundamental numerical problems in chemistry and physics for the development of new materials and drugs.

This is a purely European initiative, where the new quantum computers will be composed and integrated by hardware and software originating in Europe. In addition, they will use European technology funded by the EU through national research programs and private investments.

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Let us know in the comments what you think about this news. How do you think this new and important milestone reached by Quantum Spain could affect companies and industries? 

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