Quantum Events

Quantum Flagship Sponsors Q-Expo to Bridge Research-Industry

Avatar of Ivy Delaney
May 17, 2026 by Ivy Delaney

The Quantum Flagship will sponsor and exhibit at Q-Expo in Bilbao on May 18-19, 2026, an event designed to bridge the gap between quantum research and practical industrial applications. Bringing together leaders from across Europe and the world, Q-Expo will showcase emerging quantum solutions and foster collaboration between researchers, investors, and policymakers. The event will also launch QOMPASS, a new coordination initiative intended to support Europe’s quantum strategy and prepare for the proposed Quantum Act, aiming to establish the region as a global leader in the field. Organizers emphasize the importance of closer links between research, industry, and policy during this phase of development as quantum technologies transition from scientific discovery to real-world implementation.

Q-Expo 2026 Connects Research, Industry, and Policy

More than 70 partner institutions and over 100 affiliated organizations are coordinating efforts to accelerate the translation of quantum research into tangible technologies. Q-Expo, taking place May 18-19, 2026, is designed to bridge the historically fragmented quantum ecosystem, bringing together researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers. Organized by the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC) and hosted by the Government of Bizkaia, the event aims to move beyond fundamental discoveries and foster real-world applications of quantum technologies. The exhibition will showcase emerging solutions and facilitate connections between participants and technology providers, creating a dedicated space for exchange and collaboration. The Quantum Flagship’s role as both sponsor and exhibitor at Q-Expo underscores the effort to strengthen links between research, industry, and policy; this phase of development requires a cohesive approach to ensure Europe remains competitive.

Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the Flagship team, explore current activities, and discover open opportunities within the European quantum ecosystem. This proposed EU legislation aims to position Europe as a global leader in quantum technology while addressing economic, ethical, and security challenges, with strengthening Europe’s technological sovereignty remaining a key objective. Event materials state, “Q-EXPO offers a space to connect with key players across the quantum community and explore current developments in the field.” Speakers at the event include Darío Gil, Under Secretary for Science at the U. S. Department of Energy, and James Appathurai, Deputy Assistant Secretary General at NATO, signaling the international scope of the discussions and the importance of quantum technology to both scientific advancement and national security.

QOMPASS Initiative Advances Europe’s Quantum Strategy & Governance

Europe is solidifying its position in the field of quantum technology, moving beyond foundational research toward practical implementation and strategic governance. More than 70 partner institutions and over 100 affiliated organizations are coordinating this complex transition, recognizing that sustained leadership requires more than just scientific advancement. This coordinated approach receives further impetus with the launch of QOMPASS at Q-Expo, a new coordination initiative designed to advance the European quantum ecosystem. The project will directly support the implementation of Europe’s quantum strategy, a comprehensive plan to foster innovation and secure a competitive edge. Strengthening Europe’s technological sovereignty remains a key objective, ensuring the continent can independently develop and deploy quantum solutions. The scale of this undertaking is reflected in the diverse range of speakers scheduled for Q-Expo, including Darío Gil, and demonstrates a commitment to open collaboration and knowledge sharing as essential components of future success. The initiative aims to translate scientific breakthroughs into tangible benefits, establishing a robust and responsible quantum future for Europe.

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Avatar of Ivy Delaney

Ivy Delaney

Ivy Delaney has been working with neural networks and machine learning since the mid-nineties, back when a couple of hidden layers and a long afternoon of training counted as ambitious. She has watched the field go from academic curiosity to the thing quietly running underneath everything, and she brings that long view to quantum computing. For Quantum Zeitgeist she covers the ground where the two fields meet. That means quantum machine learning and the variational algorithms it leans on, and it also means the less glamorous but more interesting story of classical machine learning already doing real work inside quantum machines, decoding error-correcting codes, calibrating noisy hardware and learning the error models that simulators depend on. She writes about the hardware those algorithms have to run on too, and about the post-quantum cryptography scramble that the same hardware has set off. Her stories typically start with the paper, whether that is peer-reviewed work, conference proceedings or an arXiv preprint, with the source linked so you can hold a claim up against the research it came from. She is unimpressed by benchmarks that will not say what they beat, and by demonstrations that only work in the press release.

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