UvA opens Quantum Application Lab for businesses to explore quantum innovation

Organisations invited to collaborate with quantum lab

The University of Amsterdam's newly launched Quantum Application Lab (QAL) is now open to businesses to connect and explore the advantages of quantum computing technology.

QAL is a newly formed public-private R&D partnership that brings together a team of scientists, researchers, engineers and developers who can support companies in navigating the complex quantum scene.

The lab’s opening comes as quantum computing technology gains more attention because of its ability to deliver faster and better solutions due to the fundamentally novel way of information processing. That power potential can solve challenges like: optimisation problems, for example risk management for banks and insurers; simulation of quantum mechanical systems, for example predicting the behaviour of new molecules and materials; and speeding up machine learning tasks.

UvA's initiative recognises quantum's potential to move from the academic realm to high-tech industry supply chains, with the first prototypes being built for pioneering entrepreneurs. The lab offers the deep technical expertise and hardware platforms that can bring these innovations to life ‒ and ensure they benefit people and societies.

The founding partners of the lab are: Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI, the national research institute for mathematics and computer science); the Netherlands Organization for applied scientific research (TNO); the Dutch collaborative ICT Organization for Dutch higher education and research (SURF); Technical University TU Delft (on behalf Quantum Inspire) and the Netherlands eScience Center. IBM Quantum will serve as a technology provider.

Amsterdam's quantum industry is powering up

The Netherlands' National Agenda for Quantum Technology (NAQT) aims to position the country as an international knowledge and innovation hub for quantum technology, and the Dutch government has made significant investments in advancing quantum technology and bringing innovations to society. Amsterdam lies at the heart of this effort, as home to QuSoft, the Netherlands’ first research centre devoted to quantum software.

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, thanks to many public-private collaborations, makes it a hotspot for highly-trained scientists to apply their skills.