Europe accounts for 44% of global quantum patents, demonstrating a lead in intellectual property development as it enters a critical industrial phase for the technology. Public investment in quantum technologies across the European Union has reached approximately $10 billion, placing it second only to China and ahead of the United States in funding. The forthcoming European Union Quantum Act, expected in November, aims to deliver industrial-grade quantum chip fabrication by the 2030s and seeks to address that challenge.
Europe’s $10 Billion Investment Outpaces US, China
Europe’s strength in quantum technologies extends beyond financial investment, with the continent supplying over half of several critical quantum hardware components. Through 2024, companies based in the EU secured just over 12% of disclosed global quantum funding, compared to 44% captured by their United States counterparts, indicating a need for increased anchor capital within Europe. This disparity is further exacerbated by the fact that when early investors exit, the buyers are predominantly from outside of Europe, potentially leading to a loss of key innovation.
To counter this trend, the EU is considering including quantum chips in its first-of-a-kind criteria for state aid eligibility, a move that would support the development of dedicated fabrication facilities as manufacturing processes mature. A source states that Europe’s strength begins with its foundations, highlighting the importance of building a robust industrial ecosystem.
This framework would also extend to the enabling supply chain, encompassing areas like cryogenics, control electronics and specialized materials, where Europe already possesses a hard-to-replicate advantage in lithography through ASML, IQM says. The EU’s planned Quantum Grand Challenges, including a focus on fault-tolerant quantum computing, are envisioned as a European counterpart to the U.S. Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, which committed up to $300 million to a single company in October to validate its path to a utility-scale machine. If Europe aims for a comparable timeline for fault-tolerant quantum computing, these Grand Challenges will require similar levels of resources and milestone-based, procurement-style funding.
European Quantum Installations Integrate with Supercomputing
Europe is uniquely positioned in the integration of quantum processors with existing supercomputing infrastructure, hosting 21 national quantum installations within high-performance computing centers, representing around two-thirds of the global total, compared to just two in the United States. This approach, a distinctly European model, is gaining importance as the convergence of quantum computing, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing accelerates, creating a genuine strategic asset for the region.
IQM, spun out of Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in 2018, has already capitalized on this trend, selling more on-premises quantum computers globally than any other manufacturer. By 2030, the goal is to have fault-tolerant quantum computers accessible not only to researchers but also to businesses and public institutions throughout the European economy. Embedding quantum computing within Europe’s supercomputing centers and future AI factories and gigafactories is seen as the most direct path to widespread industrial adoption.
Concerns around economic security are also driving this integration; Europe’s dependence on foreign chips and cloud services presents a strategic vulnerability, particularly given quantum’s dual-use nature and implications for secure communications and critical infrastructure. A hybrid model, combining shared infrastructure like commercial packaging foundries with dedicated facilities for qubit-chip production, would serve the entire European ecosystem. The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC) has already begun to act as an early adopter of quantum computing, and public procurement can be structured to build intellectual property, industrial capability and talent.
Partnerships with VTT in Finland and the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) in Germany demonstrate this approach, with each new generation of systems supporting skills and operational expertise on both sides. The forthcoming Quantum Act could expand this through a procurement mechanism inspired by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), funding co-development of systems through milestone-based contracts rather than research grants alone. Coordinated European demand should extend beyond space and defense applications to quantum computing, building on the existing model of pooled demand seen with supercomputing through EuroHPC.
IQM’s Public Listing Signals European Quantum Industry Growth
IQM’s July listing on both the Nasdaq Stock Market in the United States and the Helsinki exchange marks a significant moment for European quantum computing, signaling a shift from research investment to industrial-scale development. Unlike the artificial intelligence sector, where Europe struggled to translate research into commercial success, quantum computing presents an opportunity to establish a more robust and self-sufficient industry. The need for sustained investment is emphasised by the ambition to achieve fault-tolerant quantum computers accessible to a broad range of users by 2030.
This goal necessitates not only technological advancements but also a coordinated approach to public procurement and anchor investment, as outlined in the forthcoming European Union Quantum Act. The potential impact of quantum computing extends beyond technological innovation; it promises solutions to complex problems across diverse sectors. Quantum computers, working alongside classical supercomputers, can tackle challenges in areas like molecular simulation for drug discovery, materials design, logistics optimization and financial risk modeling. A source states that the prize is considerably larger than market share, highlighting the far-reaching implications of leadership in this emerging field.
EU Quantum Act Aims for 2030 Chip Fabrication & Funding
Currently, Europe lacks the manufacturing capacity to scale quantum chips beyond pilot lines established through the European Chips Act, creating a critical dependency on foreign foundries like those IBM and GlobalFoundries are building with U.S. support. Closing this fabrication gap is central to the Act’s ambition, as quantum chips represent a fundamental building block for functional quantum computers. Beyond manufacturing, the Act proposes a five-pronged approach to bolster Europe’s quantum ecosystem, including a coordinated public procurement strategy and a dedicated anchor investor to support growth-stage companies.
Integrating quantum technologies into the EU’s Chips Act 2.0 is another key component, though the current proposal offers no clear pathway for quantum fabrication to achieve strategic-project status. The Act’s proponents draw a lesson from the experience with artificial intelligence, where Europe’s strength in initial research failed to translate into globally competitive companies due to insufficient manufacturing, early customer adoption and access to capital. Achieving fault-tolerant quantum computing on a competitive timeline will also require substantial resources and milestone-based funding through the EU’s Grand Challenges, mirroring the level of investment seen in the United States.
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