New Call to Strengthen EU-Japan Partnership in Quantum Computing

The objective of this call, HORIZON-EUROHPC-JU-2024-INCO-06, is to strengthen research cooperation between Europe and Japan in quantum computing and develop advanced algorithms and codes for academic and industrial applications that are of mutual interest to both regions.  

With an emphasis on applications such as biomedical and material sciences, weather and climate modelling and predictions, the call aims to foster advancements that will contribute to solving common societal challenges using quantum technologies. 

The call addresses specific priority domains where quantum computing can have significant impact. This includes developing novel quantum algorithms for complex simulations like drug discovery, quantum chemistry, and optimisation problems, as well as improving classical machine learning and Artificial Intelligence with quantum machine learning techniques.  

Furthermore, the call promotes the exchange of researchers and engineers between Japan and the EU, allowing access to shared quantum computing resources  from the EuroHPC infrastructure, as well as Japan’s ABCI-Q hybrid infrastructure.  

More Details 

The call is open for submissions until 27 February 2025, 17:00 (CET). 

This call is part of the Horizon Europe, the EU funding programme for research and innovation, with a total budget of up to EUR 4 million. 

More details and all relevant documents concerning the call are available on this dedicated webpage. 

Background 

The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) is a legal and funding entity created in 2018 to coordinate efforts among the European Union and participating countries to build and deploy a world-leading supercomputing infrastructure. The EuroHPC JU has already procured nine supercomputers across Europe, providing researchers and industries with access to some of the world’s most powerful computing resources. 

Under Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 and In line with the European Commission’s EU Digital Partnerships Strategy, aimed at advancing cooperation on digital issues with like-minded third countries, the EuroHPC JU holds a mandate to develop strategic research and innovation partnerships in HPC with nations such as Japan, Brazil, the USA, and India. Such partnerships seek to advance HPC applications in domains of shared interest, including facilitating researcher access to EuroHPC JU resources and co-developing HPC applications. 

The first EuroHPC international cooperation initiative HANAMI, was launched in April 2024. The project focuses on collaboration between European and Japanese research teams to optimise HPC applications in common interest domains.  

Earlier this year, the EuroHPC JU also launched a call to strengthen cooperation with India in the field of HPC. 

The new call for proposals on the EU-Japan Partnership in Quantum Computing aligns with these efforts, expanding the scope to include quantum computing and hybrid Quantum-HPC solutions, while deepening the research ties between Europe and Japan under the EU-Japan Digital Partnership.