A new research project has been launched to accelerate the progress of Finnish quantum technology. The QuTI project, coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, will develop new components, manufacturing and testing solutions and algorithms for the needs of quantum technology. The QuTI consortium, partly financed by Business Finland, consists of 12 partners and has a total budget of around EUR 10 million.
Quantum technology is developing into a widespread field in industry. This quantum wave is motivated by the unprecedented performance improvements and paradigm shifts that the utilization of quantum phenomena can provide for computing, communication and sensing applications. The Quantum Technologies Industrial (QuTI) ecosystem project, coordinated by VTT, brings together the expertise of Finnish industry and research organizations to find new quantum technology solutions.
The QuTI project covers the full value chain of quantum industry from materials and hardware to software and system-level solutions. The project involves 12 organizations: the research partners are VTT, Aalto University, Tampere University and CSC – IT Center for Science, and the industrial partners are Bluefors, Afore, Picosun, IQM Quantum Computers, Rockley Photonics, Quantastica, Saab, and Vexlum.
“Quantum technology is a multidisciplinary and rapidly advancing field. The QuTI consortium provides an ideal starting point for strengthening the international competitiveness of Finnish technology and industry in this fast-growing field,” says QuTI project’s coordinator, Professor Mika Prunnila from VTT.
The quantum computing, communication and sensing devices to be developed in the QuTI project are largely based on expertise in microsystems, photonics, electronics and cryogenics. The project develops customized software and algorithms hand in hand with the hardware, strengthening the Finnish quantum computing infrastructure. In addition, new tools will be created for quantum technology product development that will serve the needs of the QuTI project as well as the entire field of quantum technology.
The three-year QuTI project will be implemented as a jointly funded project that is partly financed by Business Finland (EUR 5.6 million) the total budget being about EUR 10 million.
“Quantum technology offers great opportunities for Finnish industry, and we want to be involved in supporting this development. We see that the QuTI project is in many ways a concrete starting point for the Finnish quantum ecosystem,” says Kari Leino, Ecosystem Lead at Business Finland.
Cleanrooms are a prerequisite for quantum technology research and business
Like computer microprocessors, the fabrication of quantum technology components requires a cleanroom environment. The Micronova cleanroom facility in Espoo, Finland, operated jointly by VTT and Aalto University, enables applied research and small-scale commercial manufacturing of quantum microsystems for the needs of quantum computing, communication and sensing. Micronova, part of the national Otanano research infrastructure, plays a significant role in both the QuTI project and quantum technology R&D in Finland. QuTI will also utilize complementary cleanroom of Tampere University focusing on optoelectronics fabrication.
