The Quantum Computing Competition sits at the heart of the High-Tech Agenda Deutschland (HTAD), through which the federal government aims to establish at least two fault-tolerant quantum computers at European state-of-the-art level by 2030. Quantum technologies are one of six priority key technologies under the HTAD, ranking second, a clear signal of how much weight Berlin places on the technology for the country’s future competitiveness.

Germany’s Federal Minister for Research, Technology and Space, Dorothee Bär, has emphasized the strategic significance of the program: quantum computers are among the most important key technologies of our time and will take computing power to a new level. In the future, they could speed up drug development and enable optimal traffic control; through new approaches in machine learning, quantum computers also promise a boost for AI models. Germany’s competitiveness and sovereignty depend on playing a leading role internationally. With clear, measurable success criteria, the Quantum Computing Competition aims to produce technologically excellent quantum computers “Made in Germany.”

Under its “Quantum Systems Research Program,” the Federal Ministry is funding the three most advanced hardware platforms: neutral atoms, superconducting circuits, and trapped ions. NFQC-1k is part of the trapped-ion platform, one of the three qubit modalities the federal government is counting on for a breakthrough toward fault-tolerant quantum computing.

A consortium bringing science and industry together: QUDORA combines its expertise in developing fault-tolerant quantum processors with the strengths of six further partners from academia and industry:

As consortium lead, QUDORA is responsible for the development and integration of the overall system. The partners contribute with complementary expertise, from fundamental research to semiconductor technology. The aim of NFQC-1k is to become a system that can be put to economic use in Germany and Europe over the long term.

The project’s goal is to build a quantum computer demonstrator with at least 1,000 individually addressable physical qubits and at least 50 logical qubits, at a logical gate error rate below 0.01%. The demonstrator’s performance will be verified through a Quantum Fourier Transform (QFT), a core building block of quantum algorithms and applications. In parallel, the consortium will implement a pilot line for high-performance QPU based on ion-trap technology.

„Fault tolerance is not a milestone achieved by improving a single qubit. What truly matters is building an architecture in which thousands of resilient qubits can be controlled, and operated reliably, without the system falling apart as it scales”, said Amado Bautista-Salvador, CEO of QUDORA.

„NFQC-1k builds on our NFQC® technology to develop a fault-tolerant quantum computer alongside leading German research institutions and companies. That our project has been selected shows the confidence of German government in our technology and the expertise of our partners”, said Henning Hahn, COO of QUDORA.

“The NFQC-1k project represents a massive leap forward in fault-tolerant quantum computing. For AQT, contributing to a demonstrator that controls 50 logical qubits at exceptionally low error rates is a testament to our technological expertise. We are proud to bring our core capabilities to this initiative. said Dr. Felix Rohde, CEO of AQT Germany”.

The funding runs for up to five years and is part of the BMFTR’s Quantum Systems research program. NFQC-1k’s total project volume is approximately €122 million, shared across all seven consortium partners. Following the successful outline phase, the consortium can now submit the full application after which the partners will move into the concrete implementation phase.

Funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) under its Quantum Systems research program, funding measure “Mission-Driven Hardware Competition: Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing with Pilot Line Development (Quantum Computing Competition).”

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Ion-trap systems are among the leading platforms for quantum computing, sensing, communication, and simulation. However, transitioning these systems from laboratory prototypes to industrial-scale production requires robust fabrication processes, standardisation, and integrated supply chains. CHAMP-ION addresses these challenges by establishing a High-Quality Pilot Line (HQ-PL) for ion-trap chips, focused on reproducibility, yield optimisation, and process stability. The pilot line will operate under an open-access, single-entry-point model, enabling industry, SMEs, startups, and research organisations across Europe to access fabrication and testing services. The facility will support multi-project wafer (MPW) runs and pilot production, helping reduce barriers to entry and accelerate technology transfer from research to industry. It will also develop standardized Process Design Kits (PDKs) and scalable integration frameworks to support increasingly complex quantum systems. By combining expertise in microfabrication, photonics, electronics, metrology, and quantum systems, CHAMP-ION aims to strengthen Europe’s quantum supply chain and industrial competitiveness. The pilot line will support multiple ion-trap architectures, including surface-electrode, monolithic, stacked, and MEMS-based designs, ensuring broad applicability across quantum technology platforms.

Christina Hirschl, CEO of Silicon Austria Labs (SAL), said: “We are proud to coordinate CHAMP-ION as a truly European initiative that brings together leading expertise across the continent to strengthen Europe’s technological sovereignty in quantum technologies. By building an open and scalable ion-trap ecosystem, we are creating the foundation for world-class quantum excellence made in Europe.”

Isabel Tausendschön, CFO of Silicon Austria Labs (SAL), said: “CHAMP-ION is an important investment in Europe’s future competitiveness, creating new opportunities for industrial innovation, high-value manufacturing, and resilient supply chains. Projects like this are essential to translating cutting-edge research into sustainable economic impact.”

Austrian Innovation Minister Peter Hanke said: “With CHAMP-ION, Europe is demonstrating that when it comes to key technologies like quantum computing, our ambitions go beyond scientific leadership — we are actively building industrial value creation right here in Europe. Austria, through Silicon Austria Labs, Infineon Austria, Alpine Quantum Technologies (AQT), the University of Innsbruck and ParityQC, is playing a central role in this effort. CHAMP-ION strengthens our technological sovereignty, creates highly skilled jobs, and accelerates the path from cutting-edge research to industrial application. In an era of fierce global competition for the technologies of tomorrow, it is essential that Europe develops its own manufacturing capacity, more resilient supply chains, and thriving innovation ecosystems.”

CHAMP-ION will provide an end-to-end industrial workflow, including:

The CHAMP-ION consortium includes 21 partners:

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While qubit count is a frequent headline, Quantum Volume is a more holistic metric that accounts for gate fidelity, connectivity, and hardware stability. By reaching this new QV milestone, the LYNX Series ensures:

This launch reinforces AQT’s commitment to European technological leadership. Developed and manufactured in Innsbruck, the LYNX Series provides European industries and research institutions with high-performance quantum assets that guarantee data sovereignty and security. The first units of the LYNX Series are scheduled for availability to select strategic partners in Q4 2026, with wider commercial availability following shortly after.

Trapped-ion quantum computer by AQT
Foto credit: D. Kühl, AQT

AQT is a leading quantum computing hardware company based in Innsbruck, Austria. AQT builds general-purpose quantum computers based on trapped-ion technology. Focused on standardizing quantum hardware, AQT provides the world’s only rack-mounted quantum computer, bringing the power of the atom into the data centers of tomorrow.

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The integration of Triple Alpha—Horizon Quantum’s integrated development environment—with AQT’s trapped-ion quantum processors—a leading modality known for high gate fidelity and low error rates—is intended to enable developers with and without specialised hardware expertise to harness the power of AQT’s systems at various levels of abstraction. Using Triple Alpha, developers can write, compile, and deploy quantum programs directly onto AQT’s processors, accessing the hardware via the cloud.

“AQT’s trapped ion systems provide low error rates and long coherence times, potentially increasing the scalability and reliability of quantum computing,” said Horizon Quantum CEO Dr Joe Fitzsimons. “Through this collaboration, Triple Alpha users will gain access to AQT’s processors, expanding their options for cutting-edge hardware designed to solve difficult computational problems.”

Horizon Quantum and AQT will engage customers as equals, working together to solve computational problems and achieve joint technical firsts in the fields of quantum computing and software development.

“The Triple Alpha software development environment navigates the diversity and complexity of today’s quantum stack, providing developers with access at multiple levels of abstraction to deliver both programming freedom and fine-grained precision,” said Dr Thomas Monz, CEO of AQT. “The collaboration with Horizon Quantum provides broad and easy access to AQT’s hardware and leverages synergies between the two companies, which share the common goal of advancing quantum computing in practice.”

Horizon Quantum’s objective is to build the most capable hardware-agnostic software infrastructure. Horizon Quantum believes the collaboration with AQT is an important step towards further broadening the range of hardware architectures supported in Triple Alpha. To accelerate its research and development efforts and further advance Triple Alpha, Horizon Quantum recently listed on Nasdaq under the ticker HQ.

Horizon Quantum [NASDAQ: HQ] is on a mission to unlock broad quantum advantage by building the software infrastructure that empowers developers to use quantum computing to solve the world’s toughest computational problems.

Founded in 2018 by Dr Joe Fitzsimons, a leading researcher and former professor with more than two decades of experience in quantum computing, the company is bridging the gap between today’s hardware and tomorrow’s applications through the creation of advanced quantum software development tools. Its integrated development environment, Triple Alpha, enables developers to write sophisticated, hardware-agnostic quantum programs at different levels of abstraction. Learn more at www.horizonquantum.com

Building on decades of experience in experimental and theoretical quantum information processing in Innsbruck (Austria), AQT develops and builds quantum computers. The company offers ion trap-based quantum computers that fit seamlessly into conventional IT infrastructure and can be operated from any PC or laptop, regardless of location. AQT enables its customers to install quantum computers on site or to explore use-cases via a convenient cloud solution. Researchers and developers are supported by both quantum hardware components as well as complete systems that significantly accelerate the development of quantum solutions.

This press release includes forward-looking statements. The expectations, estimates, and projections of the businesses of Horizon Quantum may differ from its actual results and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “potential,” “plan” “enable,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements and Horizon Quantum therefore cautions against placing undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. Many of these factors are outside of the control of Horizon Quantum and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) statements regarding estimates and forecasts of other financial, performance and operational metrics and projections of market opportunity; (2) references with respect to the anticipated benefits of the strategic collaboration with AQT; (3) the outcome of any efforts to integrate Horizon Quantum and AQT’s trapped-ion processor technology with Horizon Quantum’s software infrastructure; (4) Horizon Quantum’s ability to scale and grow its business, and the advantages and expected growth of Horizon Quantum; (5) the cash position of Horizon Quantum; (6) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the recently completed business combination with dMY Squared Technology Group, Inc., which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of Horizon Quantum to grow and manage growth profitably and source and retain its key employees; (7) costs, if any, related to the strategic collaboration with AQT; (8) changes in applicable laws and regulations or political and economic developments; (9) the possibility that Horizon Quantum may be adversely affected by other economic, business and/or competitive factors; (10) Horizon Quantum’s estimates of expenses and profitability; (11) difficulties operating Horizon Quantum’s quantum processors and the possibility that the quantum processors do not provide the advantages that Horizon Quantum expects; (12) the ability of Horizon Quantum to integrate access to its quantum computing test bed, including AQT’s technology, within its Triple Alpha platform; (13) the ability of Horizon Quantum’s coding languages to provide additional abstraction when compared to other quantum computing solutions; (14) the ability to maintain the listing of Horizon Quantum’s Class A ordinary shares and warrants on Nasdaq; and (15) other risks and uncertainties included in the “Risk Factors” sections of the Registration Statement on Form F-4 filed by Horizon Quantum in connection with the Business Combination, other documents filed or to be filed with the SEC by Horizon Quantum. The foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. New risks emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all risks, nor can management assess the impact of all factors on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Horizon Quantum does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in their expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law.

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