The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) announced on October 4, 2022, the selection of six sites across the EU to host the first European quantum computers. Italy’s CINECA, based in Bologna, was among the six selected hosting entities, alongside sites in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, and Spain.
According to the EuroHPC JU announcement, the EuroQCS-Italy consortium is led by CINECA and includes the Academic and Research Network of Slovenia (ARNES) and Forschungszentrum Juelich (FZJ) in Germany. The Italian system would be based on neutral atom qubit technology and integrated into the Leonardo pre-exascale supercomputer.
Co-funded by the EuroHPC JU and national contributions, the quantum computers were to be procured through competitive tendering. The planned total investment across all six sites exceeded €100 million, with the EuroHPC JU covering up to 50% of costs and participating states funding the remainder.