Public funding for quantum technology program

The production and sharing of quantum bits (or qubits, the counterparts in quantum computing to the binary digits or bits of classical computing) and the creation of a quantum information network will be the goal for the next four years by the HunQuTech consortium of researchers, research institutes and industrial companies that can operate under the leadership of the MTA Wigner Physics Research Center.

This February, the opening event of the HunQuTech quantum technology consortium was organized at the headquarters of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. A consortium, formed with the combination of several Hungarian research institutes and state-of-the-art technology companies, will be able to count on support from the Fund of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFI) in the next four years in performing research activities necessary for the implementation of quantum technology systems.

"It is especially fortunate to start a larger volume of research because this way, several groups are working, and if one of them gets stuck, the results that group achieved can be incorporated into the work of others," the President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences László Lovász said. He also talked about his years at Microsoft when he also became acquainted with the work of a research group on the mathematical foundations of a quantum computer.

NKFI President József Pálinkás highlighted that the NKFI Fund already financed 16 thematic programs with the allocation of HUF 80 billion to cover in the areas of major social, economic and environmental challenges. He added that these programs encourage the social and economic utilization of exploratory research in a strategic area where Hungarian researcher excellence can be the most competitive, therefore the National Quantum Technology Program is also implemented through the collaboration of academic, higher education and corporate research institutes.