• The Galicia Supercomputing Center, the University of A Coruña and the University of Santiago de Compostela lead this initiative in the region, with the participation of 11 partners from five EU countries
• The project aims to drive the development of quantum technologies and secure Europe’s leadership in quantum computing

A Coruña, 13 November 2025.- The European Commission has just announced the creation of the first European Quantum Excellence Centre (QEX), which will include participation from Galicia through the Galicia Supercomputing Center (Cesga) and three research centres of the Xunta de Galicia’s CIGUS Network: the Centre for Research in Information and Communication Technologies (CITIC) at the University of A Coruña (UDC), the Singular Research Centre in Intelligent Technologies (CiTIUS), and the Galician Institute of High Energy Physics (IGFAE), both from USC.

This new centre, funded by the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), is driven by a consortium of 11 partners from five EU countries. Its mission is to promote the development of quantum technologies and ensure Europe’s leadership in quantum computing.

The Galician contribution, with a budget of €1.36 million, will be co-funded 50% by the European Commission and 50% by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. This represents a major step towards creating a European common space to provide services and knowledge to quantum computing users.

As part of the QEX project, the CITIC team—composed of principal investigator Diego Andrade, María J. Martín, Juan Touriño and Basilio Fraguela—will conduct systematic benchmarking of the project’s outputs, including algorithms and support tools. Positioning this benchmarking research line within a strategic European initiative will strengthen the visibility and relevance of CITIC’s work in a highly competitive environment with top-tier partners.

The European Quantum Excellence Centre (QEX) will serve as a leading hub for quantum computing applications and tools, offering specialised training and support to scientific users, companies and industries across Europe. Its aim is to train highly qualified professionals, support the adaptation and co-development of quantum applications, and prepare the research and industrial ecosystem for the next era of computing.

Participating Partners

The QEX consortium brings together 11 partners representing a diverse network of scientific and technical expertise from five EU countries. The project is coordinated by Stichting QuantumDeltaNL (Netherlands), with additional partners including the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Copenhagen and the University of Southern Denmark; the University of Galway (Ireland); the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and the German Aerospace Center (Germany); the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and Stichting QuantumDeltaNL as coordinating entity; as well as Cesga, the University of A Coruña and the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).

A New Milestone for R&D&I in Galicia

Following the recent award of the European Artificial Intelligence Factory—one of 19 to be established in Europe—and the start of construction of the new Cesga building, a €56 million investment, Galicia takes another step forward in consolidating its position as a European benchmark in supercomputing and quantum technologies.