Insider Brief:
- The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) has signed a procurement contract with Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech to develop MareNostrum-Ona, Europe’s first quantum annealer, which will integrate into Spain’s MareNostrum 5 supercomputer and launch with at least 10 qubits by 2025.
- MareNostrum-Ona will provide European researchers, industries, and public sectors with advanced quantum computing tools for industrial, scientific, and societal applications, complementing existing quantum technologies and strengthening the EuroHPC ecosystem.
- The project is co-funded with EUR 8.5 million (approximately $8.9 million), equally shared between EuroHPC JU and the EuroQCS-Spain Consortium, which includes the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, IFAE, and INL.
PRESS RELEASE — The procurement contract for MareNostrum-Ona, the EuroHPC quantum computer to be located in Spain, has been signed by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) and Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech, the selected vendor.
MareNostrum-Ona will be an “analogue quantum computer” in the form of a quantum annealer. The first-generation system will offer at least 10 physical qubits, with capabilities increasing in both coherence times and number of qubits by the third generation.
The new system will be accessible to a wide range of European users, from the scientific community to industry and the public sector. The upcoming quantum computing infrastructure will enable the development of applications with high industrial, scientific, and societal relevance across Europe, adding new capabilities to the European supercomputing landscape. As Europe’s first quantum annealer, it will complement the quantum technologies available to European researchers, providing unique tools for advanced research and innovation. This addition will support the broader EuroHPC JU strategy to provide European users with access to a diverse range of quantum computing platforms.
Owned by the EuroHPC JU, the system will be hosted and operated by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) in Spain. MareNostrum-Ona will complement the digital gate-based quantum computer that BSC already hosts, and which was procured under the Quantum Spain initiative. These two quantum systems will be integrated into the EuroHPC world-class supercomputer MareNostrum 5 (MN5).
The name “MareNostrum-Ona” refers to the wave function that represents the quantum state. It is also a woman’s name that evokes the sea, similar to MareNostrum, the name of the supercomputer it will be integrated into.
MareNostrum-Ona is co-funded with a total acquisition cost of EUR 8.5 million (approximately $8.9 million). The EuroHPC JU will fund 50% of the costs and the remaining 50% will be funded by the EuroQCS-Spain Consortium. The EuroQCS-Spain consortium is led by BSC, and includes Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE) from Spain and the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) in Portugal.
The installation of the system will start in 2025.
BACKGROUND
Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech has been selected following a call for tender launched in May 2024. Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech will work in partnership with Do IT Now, combining their expertise to advance quantum computing within HPC infrastructure in Europe.
In 2023, the EuroHPC JU selected and signed hosting agreements with six sites across Europe to host and operate EuroHPC quantum computers: in Czechia, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and Poland.
In 2024, the EuroHPC JU has announced the signatures of the procurement contracts for:
- EuroQCS-Poland quantum computer,
- LUMI-Q consortium’s quantum computer in Czechia,
- Lucy located in France and
- Euro-Q-Exa located in Germany.
In 2024, the EuroHPC JU also selected and signed hosting agreements to host and operate two additional state-of-the art quantum computers: in Luxembourg and in the Netherlands.
The deployment of these quantum computers across Europe aimed to offer the widest possible variety of European quantum computing platforms and hybrid classical-quantum architectures. This approach positions Europe at the forefront of this emerging field while providing European users with access to diverse and complementary quantum technologies.
These eight quantum computers come on top of two analogue quantum simulators procured under the EuroHPC JU project HPCQS and which are based on neutral atoms, supplied by the French company PASQAL. HPCQS aims to develop and coordinate a cloud-based European federated infrastructure, tightly integrating two quantum computers, each controlling 100-plus qubits in the Tier-0 HPC systems Joliot-Curie of GENCI and the JURECA modular supercomputer at the Julich Supercomputing Centre (JSC).
