In December 2021, the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking launched HPCQS (High Performance Computer and Quantum Simulator hybrid), its first quantum computing initiative. The project aimed to integrate two 100-qubit analogue quantum simulators, supplied by the French company PASQAL, into two existing EuroHPC supercomputers: Joliot Curie at GENCI in France and JUWELS at the Julich Supercomputing Centre in Germany.
According to the EuroHPC JU, HPCQS was co-funded by EuroHPC and six Member States, creating the first hybrid quantum-supercomputing incubator in Europe. The project was designed to be expandable to more partners and additional quantum hardware, with the goal of bridging EuroHPC hosting entities.
HPCQS laid the groundwork for the broader EuroHPC quantum infrastructure program that would later expand to six additional quantum computers selected in October 2022. Both HPCQS simulators were inaugurated by the end of 2025.