The central objective of the QuantERA initiative involving 27 research funding organisations is to launch a transnational Call in quantum technologies that will cover 22 countries participating in the European Union Horizon 2020 programme and will be co-funded by the European Commission through an ERANET action. The planned total budget of this funding opportunity is expected to approach 30 million EUR.
Launching the Call will be complemented by a range of additional activities aimed at monitoring funded research, mapping future challenges in quantum technologies, and facilitating interactions with industrial players. It is envisaged that the results of these activities will be a starting point for future research endeavours aimed at exploiting the industrial potential of quantum technologies. Furthermore, efforts will be made to explore cooperation with non-European countries in order to strengthen the European leadership on the world stage. Careful attention will be paid to maximising the impact of funding made available through the QuantERA action.
Quantum technologies are a very diverse field of research with specific lines at different stages of development. QuantERA will target those with lower technology readiness levels, where the scope for international cooperation is the greatest and issues related to exploitation are not expected to impose significant constraints on collaborative research activities. In accordance with the FET Work Programme 2016-2017, the scientific scope of the QuantERA Call will focus on new technologies facilitated by specific quantum phenomena such as superposition states, the no-cloning rule, or entanglement to achieve new or radically enhanced functionality. These effects have been shown to have far-reaching consequences in ICT, specifically communications and computing, and more recently in other areas, including metrology and sensing. The ambition of QuantERA will be to identify current challenges that will benefit most from these collaborative efforts and make them the central objectives of funded projects.
Launching the Call will be complemented by a range of additional activities aimed at monitoring funded research, mapping future challenges in quantum technologies, and facilitating interactions with industrial players. It is envisaged that the results of these activities will be a starting point for future research endeavours aimed at exploiting the industrial potential of quantum technologies. Furthermore, efforts will be made to explore cooperation with non-European countries in order to strengthen the European leadership on the world stage. Careful attention will be paid to maximising the impact of funding made available through the QuantERA action.
Quantum technologies are a very diverse field of research with specific lines at different stages of development. QuantERA will target those with lower technology readiness levels, where the scope for international cooperation is the greatest and issues related to exploitation are not expected to impose significant constraints on collaborative research activities. In accordance with the FET Work Programme 2016-2017, the scientific scope of the QuantERA Call will focus on new technologies facilitated by specific quantum phenomena such as superposition states, the no-cloning rule, or entanglement to achieve new or radically enhanced functionality. These effects have been shown to have far-reaching consequences in ICT, specifically communications and computing, and more recently in other areas, including metrology and sensing. The ambition of QuantERA will be to identify current challenges that will benefit most from these collaborative efforts and make them the central objectives of funded projects.
Tentative Timeline
15 January 2017
Call publication15 March 2017
Deadline for pre-proposal submissionMay 2017
Notification of accepted pre-proposals30 June 2017
Deadline for full proposal submissionOctober 2017
Notification of accepted proposalsEarly 2018
Start date for funded projects
Attention will be paid to ensuring complementarity with concurrent European funding schemes available in the area of quantum technologies. The QuantERA Consortium will endeavour to advance the field of quantum technologies by addressing the following themes in the Call:
The scientific contents of the QuantERA Call will be prepared paying attention to state-of-the-art of quantum technologies research and current challenges in developing the quantum technologies potential. Advice on the thematic scope of the Call will be provided by the Strategic Advisory Board (SAB) which will draw on a broad range of perspectives from the key scientific disciplines underlying quantum technologies, as well as from industry interested in quantum technologies. The particular topics addressed in the Call are expected to cover a broad range of activities, including:
- Exploitation of quantum phenomena such as entanglement and superposition to achieve new or radically enhanced functionality;
- Critical analysis of the advantages offered by quantum-enabled or quantum-enhanced technologies in comparison to other available options based on conventional paradigms;
- Exploration of quantum technologies in areas with scientific, industrial, and societal potential.
The scientific contents of the QuantERA Call will be prepared paying attention to state-of-the-art of quantum technologies research and current challenges in developing the quantum technologies potential. Advice on the thematic scope of the Call will be provided by the Strategic Advisory Board (SAB) which will draw on a broad range of perspectives from the key scientific disciplines underlying quantum technologies, as well as from industry interested in quantum technologies. The particular topics addressed in the Call are expected to cover a broad range of activities, including:
- development of new principles,
- experimental demonstrations, as well as,
- the technological advancement of devices and systems utilising quantum phenomena.