Missions-driven Hardware Competition: Fault-corrected Quantum Computing with Pilot Lines (Quantum Computing Competition)
Objective and purpose: The German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) funds pre-competitive collaborative R&D to create the technical prerequisites for fault-corrected quantum computers and to sharply reduce hardware error susceptibility. The measure supports the national objective to realize at least two fault-corrected quantum computers at European top level by 2030 and emphasizes scaling beyond typical lab conditions through reproducible processes.
Scope: Funding targets quantum-computing hardware on the three most advanced platforms: neutral atoms, superconductors, and trapped ions. Two linked modules are foreseen. Module A funds R&D on the quantum processor, its control, and the error-correction layer; higher hardware/software layers may be used for benchmarking but are not funded as development work.
Module B funds research and pilot manufacturing infrastructure when it is necessary to achieve Module A objectives; eligibility for Module B depends on an associated successful Module A proposal and cross-referenced sketches.
Consortium and requirements: Module A must be coordinated by an industrial system integrator. Consortia should remain agile (around five partners). At least one partner must have demonstrated, prior to project start, a system with 24 controllable qubits and continuous 99.5% two-qubit gate fidelity. The call specifies minimum end-of-project demonstrations by platform, including targets for physical and logical qubits, maximum logical two-qubit gate error rate, cycle time, and evidence of error reduction, and requires demonstration of a universal logical gate set.
Funding and timing: Support is provided as a non-repayable grant with a project duration of up to five years. For Module A, up to €20 million per consortium project is foreseen. Project sketches can be submitted from 07 April 2026 to 11 May 2026. Projects are expected to document progress through publications and, where relevant, patent filings and preparation for later applications.
More info:
- Quantensysteme call page: Missionsgetriebener Hardware‑Wettbewerb… (Quantum Computing Competition)
- Official BMFTR announcement page: Bekanntmachung – Quantum Computing Competition