Press Release by the Bavarian Academy Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (excerpt):
The proposal “Quantum Microwaves for Communication and Sensing (QMiCS)” is being funded in the first phase of a ten-year research and development program of the European Union (Flagship on Quantum Technologies). QMiCS was selected among 90 competing consortia. As coordinator, the Walther-Meißner-Institute of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities acts a central link between the European Commission and the international project partners.
QMiCS aims at creating a technological basis for improving communication and sensing methods by employing quantum effects. More specifically, one uses dedicated micro- and nanostructured circuits made from superconducting materials and cooled down close to absolute zero temperature to generate microwave radiation exhibiting a particular quantum mechanical property called “entanglement”. Exploiting entangled microwaves, a prototype quantum local area network cable for distributed quantum computing and a proof of concept for quantum-enhanced radar shall be demonstrated at the Walther-Meißner-Institute (WMI) within the next three years. In order to achieve these ambitious goals, WMI collaborates with renowned research groups from France, Spain, Finland, and Portugal as well as with industry partners. The latter are the cryotechnology expert Oxford Instruments Nanotechnology Tools Ltd. from the UK and the Spanish microwave technology specialist TTI Norte S.L.
Link to the press release on the homepage of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german)
Link to english press release as pdf (120 kB)
Link to german press release as pdf (120 kB)
Press Release on the official Quantum Flagship homepage (excerpt):
On October 29th, Europe will witness the start of a new and promising initiative known as the Quantum Flagship. This initiative is already positioning itself as one of the most ambitious of the European Union with a 1b€ budget funded by the European Commission. It will support large-scale and long-term research and innovation projects that will have the main goal of transferring quantum physics research from the lab to the market by means of commercial applications.
Over these next 10 years, the initiative intends on placing Europe at the forefront of the second quantum revolution, which is now unfolding worldwide. It aims to bring disruptive quantum technologies to the scientific arena and to society in general by bringing forward new commercial opportunities addressing global challenges, providing strategic capabilities for security and seeding yet unimagined applications for the future. It will build a network of European Quantum Technologies programs that will foster an ecosystem capable of delivering the knowledge, technologies and open research infrastructures and testbeds necessary for the development of a world-leading knowledge-based industry in Europe.