Planckian Selected for Phase 1 of EuroHPC Quantum Grand Challenge

Insider Brief

• Planckian has been selected for Phase 1 of the EuroHPC Quantum Grand Challenge, alongside 12 other companies chosen from 27 eligible proposals across Europe.
• The Italian company’s SQALE project will develop a technical and financial roadmap for scaling its quantum computing architecture toward industrial-scale fault-tolerant systems.
• Phase 1 runs for four months, with companies that complete it able to progress to Phase 2 and apply for up to €30 million from the European Investment Bank.

PRESS RELEASE — Planckian today announced that it has been selected for Phase 1 of the EuroHPC Quantum Grand Challenge, the European Union programme backing the quantum computing platforms with the most credible path to industrial-scale systems. Thirteen companies were selected from 27 eligible proposals across Europe. Planckian is the only Italian company on the list.

Planckian’s quantum computing platform addresses what is considered the central obstacle to building larger quantum computers: infrastructure overhead. Conventional superconducting processors require dedicated control lines for every qubit, with the wiring, the cryogenic cabling and the room-temperature electronics, steadily eroding the system’s economic viability as it scales. Planckian’s architecture allows many qubits to share the same control lines, a scalable-by-design route toward utility-scale machines.

Through its project, SQALE, Planckian will build the technical and financial roadmap for scaling its quantum computing architecture toward a fault-tolerant system at the industrial scale. 

Michele Dallari, CEO of Planckian said: “The Quantum Grand Challenge signals that Europe is not only leading quantum research, but is serious about turning that research into machines that the industry can actually buy and run. That is the problem we set out to solve. Our approach enables scalability by design and changes the economics of large-scale machines, bringing them within the reach of industrial and market R&D budgets, rather than the national programmes alone.” 

The programme runs in two phases. Phase 1 funds the technical roadmap and the commercialisation case over four months and is expected to start once the grant agreement is signed. Companies that successfully complete Phase 1 will progress to Phase 2 and be eligible to apply for up to EUR 30 million in funding from the European Investment Bank to develop and build market ready quantum solutions.