Quantum Experimental Pilot Lines for Quantum Technologies
Horizon Europe · Grant topic
Summary
A Polish company can use this call for R&D.
Funds eligible legal entities implementing Qu-Pilot experimental production infrastructure to advance quantum hardware fabrication, reproducibility and manufacturing readiness at TRL 4–6.
- Who can apply
- Companies can lead: SME, large company, startup, research org, university, other.
- Amount
- €14M – €15M per projectTotal budget €15,000,000
- Deadline
- 17 Nov 2026 01:00 CETin 24 days
- Status
- Openopened 13 Aug 2026
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source.
Description
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.
Who can apply, in detail
- Applicant types
- SME, Large company, Startup, Research org, University, Other
- Purpose
- Research and innovation
- R&D relevance
- 3 of 3
- Poland eligible
- Yes
- Country limit
- EU Member States or EuroHPC JU Participating States; non-eligible-country control requires approved guarantees.
- Region
- Any
- Consortium
- Unclear
- Readiness level (TRL)
- 4-6
- Topics
- Quantum hardware fabrication
- Experimental pilot lines
- Reproducible manufacturing
- Quantum materials
- Certification and standardisation
Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source. 23 Oct 2026
Conditions
Typed facts extracted from the source documents by Scindu's grant-data review. Each value keeps its own conditions. Unknown means unstated, not zero or unlimited.
- Applicant restriction
- Entities in an otherwise eligible country that are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country/entity may not participate absent guarantees approved by the eligible country showing no negative impact on Union strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security.
- Eligible geography
- Participation is limited to legal entities established in EU Member States or EuroHPC JU Participating States. Associated Horizon Europe countries can qualify if they become EuroHPC JU participating states before grant-agreement signature.
- Eligible project scope
- Experimental quantum pilot-line infrastructure is expected to advance TRL 4–6 technologies; the scope addresses diverse quantum platforms and materials.
- Eligible project 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.
- Other condition
- HORIZON-JU-RIA under HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based (HORIZON-AG).
- Other condition
- Single-stage call deadline: 17 November 2026.
- Other condition
- Official EuroHPC JU call page lists the single-stage deadline as 17 November 2026, 17:00 CET.
- Other condition
- Employee/equivalent actual personnel costs are calculated using the person’s actual eligible annual personnel cost divided by 215, multiplied by action day-equivalents; this is a calculation method, not a stated salary cap or salary amount. No job-specific pay rates or numeric salary ceilings found in the reviewed topic record.
- Other condition
- The topic budget overview expects one grant.
- Other condition
- The topic submission session opened 13 August 2026; current record gives single-stage deadline 17 November 2026.
- Expected project duration
- 42
Expected project/action duration, not a hard maximum or minimum. QTI duration was not stated in the announcement reviewed.
Amounts and costs
- Indicative budget
- €15,000,000
Topic budget as stated in the portal's budget table. Lump-sum and per-project limits are in the call conditions.
- Call allocation
- €15,000,000
- Eligible cost
- This topic is offered as a HORIZON-AG budget-based grant. MGA describes actual-cost grants as budget-based mixed actual-cost grants reimbursing only eligible costs actually incurred for the project; personnel categories and conditions are defined in MGA Article 6.2.A.
- Eligible cost
- The applicable reimbursement rate is the rate fixed in the specific call/topic conditions and grant agreement; RIA maximum is 100% of eligible costs.
- Eligible cost
- Potential personnel costs for beneficiaries may include (A.1) employees/equivalent under employment contract or equivalent appointing act and assigned to action; (A.2) natural persons under a non-employment direct contract and (A.3) third-party seconded persons against payment, subject to employee-like work conditions and beneficiary ownership of results unless agreed otherwise; and (A.4) unpaid SME owners or natural-person beneficiaries as unit costs under Annex 2a. Topic-specific staff positions, hiring volumes, qualifications, FTE and pay rates are not stated in the reviewed topic record.
- Funding intensity, maximum
- 100
General Horizon Europe maximum for RIA; the call-specific rate fixed in the topic conditions and grant agreement governs and may set the applicable rate.
- Expected project funding, up to
- €15,000,000
Expected EU contribution for the topic; the source describes an expected contribution range, not a guaranteed award or hard project-cost ceiling.
- Expected project funding, from
- €14,000,000
Expected EU contribution for the topic; the source describes an expected contribution range, not a guaranteed award or hard eligibility floor.
Personnel and services
Other role
Staff cost the grant can fund
Conditional eligible cost category under the budget-based HORIZON-AG MGA; a role is not a topic-mandated hire. Must be assigned to the action and incurred/declared under the applicable cost-category rules. No FTE, headcount, or duration requirement found in topic scope.
Source documents
Call facts
- Opens
- 13 Aug 2026
- Deadline model
- Single-stage
- Programme
- Horizon Europe · 2021 - 2027
- Call
- HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2026-QEXP-14 · Quantum Experimental Pilot Lines for Quantum Technologies
- Types of action
- HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions
- Source
- ec.europa.eu
- Checked
- 23 Oct 2026
- Portal updated
- 19 Oct 2026
- Review status
- Partial review
- Reviewed
- 22 Oct 2026
This is a summary of the source page, not the official text. Eligibility, conditions and the submission system are at the source.