On March 12, 2018, Hungary’s National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH) officially opened the National Quantum Technology Programme at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. According to an NKFIH announcement, the programme received a state subsidy of HUF 3.5 billion (approximately EUR 11 million at the time, or USD 13.5 million) over a four-year period from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.
NKFIH President József Pálinkás said the programme would result in prototypes contributing to the creation of quantum computers. The HunQuTech consortium, led by the Wigner Research Centre for Physics, was tasked with implementation. Consortium members included the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), the Centre for Energy Research, Ericsson Hungary, Nokia Bell Labs, Bonn Hungary Electronics, and Femtonics.
Péter Domokos, scientific leader of the consortium, stated that the four-year programme would focus on quantum cryptography communication between two points and the execution of quantum bit operations. He added that the consortium would work to connect Hungary to the developing European quantum internet, improve researcher competitiveness, and increase the number of quantum technology engineers and researchers in Hungary.