On January 11, 2024, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced the establishment of IEC/ISO Joint Technical Committee 3 (JTC 3) on Quantum Technologies. The new committee marked only the third joint technical committee created by ISO and IEC, following JTC 1 (Information Technology) established in 1987 and JTC 2 (Biobanking).
JTC 3’s scope covers standardization in quantum computing, quantum simulation, quantum sources, quantum metrology, quantum detectors, quantum communications, and fundamental quantum technologies. Specific sector-based applications and work already housed in JTC 1 subcommittees, IEC TC 86 (fibre optics), IEC TC 47 (semiconductors), and other existing committees were excluded from the scope.
South Korea assumed the chair position for the new committee. The British Standards Institution (BSI), representing both the IEC and ISO member for the United Kingdom, was designated as the secretariat. The IEC SMB and ISO Technical Management Board had both approved the proposal, which originated from BSI following a recommendation by IEC SEG 14.