QuIC: European Quantum Industry Consortium Towards 2030
Quantum Industry Europe
European Quantum Future at a Crossroads: Immediate Action Needed to Maintain Industrial Dominance
The European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC) has warned that if immediate and decisive action is not taken, Europe could lose its scientific edge and become a consumer of foreign quantum innovations, putting the continent at a critical point in the race for quantum technology. A comprehensive position paper in response to the European Commission's Quantum Europe Strategy by the Quantum Industry Consortium calls for a unified vision, increased investment, and streamlined governance to make Europe a global quantum powerhouse by 2030.
Analysts say “Europe cannot afford to let its scientific leadership falter at the junction of discovery and deployment,” emphasising the need for an ambitious, inclusive, and effective R&I program. Quantum Industry Consortium applauds the Commission's ambitious five-pillar strategy: research and innovation, infrastructures, ecosystem building, dual-use and space applications, and skills. The consortium emphasises that its implementation must actively address structural issues and allow “bottom-up initiatives” to prevent top-down funding channels from dominating startups and smaller labs.
Increasing funding and infrastructure access
According to QuIC, a €2 billion yearly Quantum Sovereignty Growth Fund is essential. The European Investment Bank and pension funds want to co-finance this fund, which will protect IP and offer “fast-track decision-making to rival US investor speed” to help startups and scaleups grow.
Quantum Industry Consortium cites the shortage of cleanrooms, cryogenics, and nanofabrication facilities for researchers and SMEs to advance discoveries from lab to prototype. QuIC suggests EU-backed startup and scale-up facilities to address this. The idea is to keep enterprises and talent from moving abroad for better resources.
Even though it supports the Commission's goal of 100 error-corrected qubits by 2030, Quantum Industry Consortium emphasises “quality key performance indicators,” such as coherence time, logical qubit integrity, and scalability, over raw qubit counts. As industrialisation develops, the paper advises short-term hardware platform changes before focussing on a few architectures picked by independent experts based on competitive, performance-based evaluations.
Boosting Software and Industry
The Quantum Industry Consortium believes quantum software, often disregarded in favour of hardware, should have its own strategic area. The company says “Software is the key enabler: it translates quantum capabilities into tangible outcomes for industries like pharma, logistics, finance, and energy”. It is a “strategic multiplier across the stack” since it enables hardware-agnostic design and deployment, accelerates industrial adoption, and helps build superior European quantum hardware. Without scalable, accessible software, even the most advanced technology is meaningless.
The six quantum chip pilot lines, each costing €40–50 million, are too tiny to compete globally. The Chips Act sponsors these lines. Quantum Industry Consortium supports a stronger “Chips Act 2.0” and a Quantum Chips Industrialisation Roadmap to prioritise potential platforms. A fundamental demand-side approach integrating advance purchase agreements by EuroHPC and the European Space Agency provides market signals and revenue certainty for new foundries. Failure to take such bold steps could cost Europe leadership to China and the US.
Promoting Ecosystem Growth and IP Protection
Beyond financing, the study highlights substantial barriers to startup scalability and capital availability, asserting that EU mechanisms are inferior to late-stage funding rounds in China and the US. In addition to the Quantum Sovereignty Growth Fund, stronger IP protection for Europe, including steps to prevent non-Europeans from acquiring essential IP and specialised support for patent maintenance beyond project durations, is recommended.
Quantum Industry Consortium offers “Quantum Adoption Vouchers” to fund early pilots that connect end users with startups to accelerate adoption. Member states should also establish quantum competency clusters to help SMEs. QuIC also supports a 2026 European Quantum Standards Roadmap that would promote ecosystem interoperability, quality, and security, stressing standardisation as a key European leadership area.
Skills Development, Governance, and Dual-Use Applications
Quantum technologies might revolutionise security and defence with ultra-precise sensing, encrypted communication, and advanced command and logistics computers. In recognition of the conflict between military procurement cycles and quantum startups' rapid iterations, Quantum Industry Consortium suggests a continental defence sandbox where armed forces can test these technologies and cross-border cooperative purchase of dual-use solutions. Space seems promising with proposals for orbital testbeds and European space planning.
The Quantum Industry Consortium supports the Commission's 2026 European Quantum Skills Academy to meet the urgent need for qualified quantum workers, but the €10 million funding plan is insufficient. Software engineering and control electronics have serious shortages. Increased, industry-driven investment, simpler mobility restrictions, and clear retention levers are recommended, along with expedited visas, relocation payments for European graduates, and student industrial rotations. QuIC can house apprentices, advise on implementation, and co-design courses.
QuIC recommends permanent industry representation on the Commission's High-Level Advisory Board to foster learner- and industry-inclusive governance. The group requests a European Quantum Coordination Office to coordinate national initiatives and enable collaborative research. The paper also suggests integrating non-EU countries like the UK and Switzerland, expanding international digital cooperation beyond research to industry implementation, and standardising procurement processes.
Designing for Sustainability
Quantum advancement must avoid the mistakes of previous industrial revolutions, says the Quantum Industry Consortium. From the start, the cooperation has prioritised circular design, resource efficiency, and CRM Act and EU Green Deal compliance. Although quantum may help address climate issues, the team notes that “The climate crisis is not a future concern but a present reality,” and that the immediate opportunity and responsibility is to ensure that the quantum developmental path is in line with resource efficiency, societal good, and climate goals to create a sustainable, inclusive, and future-proof industry.
Quantum Industry Consortium believes that the moment to act is now and provides a clear roadmap for researchers, industry leaders, and governments to collaborate to build a robust and competitive quantum ecosystem that will secure Europe's quantum leadership.