Quantum Experimental Pilot Lines for Quantum Technologies

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Expected Outcome:
This action will strengthen Europe's leadership and strategic autonomy in quantum technologies by advancing experimental pilot line capacities as a vital stepping stone toward future industrial-scale quantum hardware production. Qu-Pilot serves as the critical intermediary between academic research and the stable pilot lines under the Chips Joint Undertaking, offering a testbed for technological innovation, reproducibility, and manufacturability.
Expected outcomes include:

• Deployment of experimental quantum pilot lines addressing diverse platforms and materials, laying the groundwork for broader integration into Chips JU pilot lines.
• Establishment of scalable and reproducible quantum fabrication processes, advancing TRL 4–6 technologies and addressing early-stage certification, standardisation, and quality control.
• Reinforcement of a pan-European quantum hardware ecosystem through shared infrastructure and open-access models, fostering participation from SMEs, startups, and research institutes.
• Demonstrated ability to accelerate technology maturity and feed critical feedback loops into future Chips JU stability pilot lines.
• Enhanced synergies with testing infrastructures (e.g., Qu-Test), standardisation efforts, and industrialisation roadmaps, enabling horizontal integration across computing, communication, sensing, and enabling tech domains. Scope:
The action is to implement the pilot production elements of the Qu-Pilot Framework Partnership Agreement. The proposal should advance the maturity of quantum hardware technologies in alignment with EU industrial strategy, emphasising flexibility, innovation, and scalability.
The proposal should address:

• Establishment or enhancement of experimental pilot production infrastructure for TRL 4–6 quantum hardware technologies, with strong R&D orientation.
• Development of pre-industrial processes for:
• Quantum processors (e.g., superconducting, trapped ions, photonic),
• Quantum sensors (e.g., NV centers),
• Cryo-compatible packaging and interconnects.
• Integration of cleanroom capabilities with lithography, etching, and deposition tailored to quantum device requirements (e.g., silicon, diamond, III-Vs), ensuring convergence with Chips JU standards.
• Creation of collaborative fabrication access models (shared-cost basis) open to academic and industrial partners.
• Development of standardised workflows for yield analysis, reproducibility, and quality assurance, supporting component certification pathways.
• Continuous engagement with Qu-Test and other testbeds to enable rapid iteration cycles and technology validation.
• Active alignment with Chips JU’s pilot line roadmap to enable seamless transfer of validated technologies once the stability pilot lines are operational.
• Contribution to a transversal European infrastructure serving multiple quantum domains (computing, sensing, communications), ensuring cross-domain integration and maximising synergies. Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects
The rules are described in General Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027.
Activities are expected to validate technologies starting at TRL 3/4 and confirm their progression to TRL 5/7 by the end of the project.

Status

Open

Deadline

17 November 2026 (time not stated)

Opens

13 August 2026

Published

13 August 2026

Total budget

€15,000,000

Grant range

€14,000,000 – €15,000,000

Country

European Union (EU-wide)

Programme

Horizon Europe (HORIZON)

Funder

European Commission

Official page

Open at the source portal

What applying involves

13 steps, every one of them taken from what this call's own documents state.

Understand the call

• Read the call on the source portal and download its documents
• Write the proposal against the award criteria and thresholds standard for this programme

  described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes — conditions §5a

• Check the grant's legal and financial set-up standard for this programme

  described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme] The documents are described in General Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027. Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA): Application form templates Please use the application form that you will find in the Submission System. You can find examples of standard application forms in the Reference Documents … — conditions §6

• Check the amount you plan to request against the call's range

Check you are eligible

• Confirm your technology readiness level against the range the call states
• Check every partner is established in an eligible country standard for this programme

  described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide — conditions §2

• Meet the call's other eligibility conditions standard for this programme

  described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes — conditions §3

• Be able to show financial and operational capacity standard for this programme

  described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes — conditions §4

• Check the conditions for financial support to third parties

Prepare the documents

• Prepare Part B of the Application Form standard for this programme

  Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. — conditions

• Complete the detailed budget table standard for this programme

Submit

• Check the submission and evaluation process

  The general criteria are described in the General Annex D of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027. described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual — conditions §5b

• Submit before the closing date shown above

  The source states the closing day but no closing time — check the portal before the last day. — calls.deadline

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