How the EU wants to become a quantum supercomputing superpower

Just as the world was coming to terms with living with Big Data — every move tracked by our smart appliances, our choices logged and stored in vast volumes of terabytes and petabytes, then analyzed at a speed impossible to comprehend to offer us instant personalized services — along came AI.  

With AI, and its perhaps most well-known incarnation to the general consumer ChatGPT, we have been able to utilize these vast amounts of data for our own needs, rather than simply have them passively collected from us and used to boost the profits of businesses. 

But now there’s a new phrase to come to terms with: quantum computing. It’s not entirely accurate to call it ‘new’: the concept of quantum computing was developed as far back as the 1980s.  

In scientific terms, quantum refers to the smallest amount of something that can be measured. Modern quantum theory is an umbrella term developed in the 1920s for the most fundamental aspects of the laws of physics. So why is quantum computing coming to the fore now? 

The future is quantum 

“The field of quantum information offers great possibilities in new communication systems and advanced computing,” explains Xavier Ferrás from Esade’s Department of Operations, Innovations and Data Sciences. 

“In nature or in the economy there are problems that seem simple, but whose mathematical complexity grows more than exponentially from a certain number of variables. There are problems that, beyond a certain point, are beyond the power of silicon supercomputers and could be tackled with quantum computing, a technology that uses quantum mechanical principles to perform extremely complex calculations. 

“Calculations that would take years to solve on a silicon supercomputer could be solved in seconds. Although most conventional problems will continue to be solved with standard computers, quantum computing has important industrial applications in optimization problems and in simulations of very complex processes.” 

Reach for the moon 

And it’s these industrial applications that are piquing the interest of global governments and businesses, all of whom are keen to be at the fore of the technology.  

“If we don’t grasp this opportunity, we will end up in the hands of foreign companies,” warns Ferras. “We will lose an opportunity to participate in the birth of this transformational industry. Quantum computing clusters will emerge in other parts of the world and all the knowledge we have here [in Spain] will never be converted into employment or economic growth. 

“The moon landings are a great example of how technology shapes industry,” he explains. 

“Even if the trip had failed, its driving force generated capabilities that later turned the USA into a leader in the civilian market. The global tech companies that are household names today and have shaped modern society would never have been born without the national impetus that the country gave to R&D for the space race during the Cold War."  

When we think of all these household names (Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, to name just a few) and the people behind them (Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos), it’s clear that the US reaped the benefits of the technology race.  

But this time, the EU is determined to lead the way — and become a true superpower in quantum supercomputing. 

Home-grown technology 

“This is an industry with incalculable disruptive potential, but extremely complex and highly experimental, requiring a large ecosystem in which all the technology, from the first screw to the last qubit, must be European,” says Ferrás.  

“If the chip comes from Taiwan, you already have a problem. If we want Europe to be a leader in quantum computing, the entire supply chain should be European." 

And it’s already happening. The Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the first quantum computer in southern Europe, financed by the European Recovery Plan.  

The initiative is part of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the Digital Spain 2026 agenda, which has 25 centers located in 14 autonomous communities and is integrated into the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES) coordinated by the BSC-CNS. 

The Spanish advantage 

Spain is one of six countries selected by the EU to hose the first quantum computers as part of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU).  

“This is a commitment to the future that will strengthen technological and industrial development in Spain and create highly-qualified employment, one of our great objectives,” says Carme Artigas, the secretary of state for digitization and artificial intelligence. 

Alba Cervera, BSC researcher and coordinator of Quantum Spain, adds: "Thanks to this project, Spain will have a public space with an emerging technology and it will align with similar European and global proposals. We want to promote the use of this technology in a transversal way and target both researchers and companies.” 

Towards a quantum future 

For Esade, the focus on research is already providing benefits. A collaboration agreement with BSC-CNS to promote scientific research and training, and scientific and technological development, aims to transfer scientific knowledge of high-performance computing into society. 

Esade will participate in the design, delivery and coordination of training programs, along with European projects and research. 

Joan Rodón, dean of Esade Business School, said of the partnership: "This agreement favors collaboration between the scientific-technological field and business management, areas that are increasingly interrelated, making it necessary for leaders and managers to be aware of technological advances and can develop disruptive and sustainable business models.  

“For this reason, this collaboration provides the opportunity for both students and teachers to work with a pioneering supercomputing scientific institution in Spain, while promoting public-private collaboration, essential for the development of society.”