Amsterdam's quantum science industry receive multimillion-euro boost
Quantum Delta NL, which includes the Quantum.Amsterdam innovation hub, has been awarded funding from the Dutch government to boost awareness, education and applications of quantum research.
Funding to power the Netherlands’ quantum research
Quantum Delta NL has been awarded €615 million by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy to power advances in quantum technology and transfer innovations to society.
The nationwide foundation was launched in 2020 to fulfil the Netherland’s National Agenda for Quantum Technology (NAQT) – to position the country as an international knowledge and innovation hub for quantum technology by connecting parties to work together on common challenges and accelerating the economic impact of quantum technology.
Innovation hub Quantum.Amsterdam liaises with the national foundation and links academia, industry and society in the Amsterdam Area by exchanging knowledge and ideas.
University of Amsterdam (UvA), Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences are part of the network, and its research base includes QuSoft, the Netherlands’ first research centre devoted to quantum software, and the UvA’s quantum labs.
Preparing for a quantum future
The funding will benefit many of the activities of Quantum.Amsterdam, such as quantum awareness programmes for companies, educating the next generation of quantum scientists, and a programme focusing on Ethical Legal and Social Aspects (ELSA) of quantum technologies.
The programme builds on the Amsterdam Area’s strong research infrastructure, which excels at collaboration between various disciplines. The city’s long history of quantum computing – CWI has pioneered research in quantum algorithms since the mid-1990s – gives the Dutch capital a solid foundation for a future of quantum applications, and makes it a hotspot for highly-trained scientists to apply their skills.