On February 17, 2020, Netherlands State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy Mona Keijzer announced that approximately €23.5 million (roughly $25.5 million) would be invested in quantum technologies over the next five years. The investment was the Dutch government’s initial response to the National Agenda on Quantum Technology, which was presented to Keijzer by physicist Robbert Dijkgraaf in September 2019.
In a letter to the Dutch cabinet, Keijzer wrote that the urgency was high and that action was needed immediately to prevent the Netherlands from being overtaken in the rapidly growing global field of quantum technology. She noted that the Netherlands’ prominent position in quantum technology was recognized worldwide, with universities and knowledge institutes leading in the development of qubits, quantum networks, quantum algorithms, and post-quantum cryptography.
The funding was designated for high-priority actions identified in the National Agenda, including the development of demonstrator platforms, startup support programs, and a research program coordinated by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Defense. Coordination and implementation were assigned to the newly established Quantum Delta NL foundation, set up by a collaboration of knowledge institutions and companies including TU Delft, University of Amsterdam, Leiden University, Eindhoven University of Technology, University of Twente, and TNO.
The National Agenda had calculated that new action lines in quantum technology would require investment of approximately €34 million per year, indicating the initial state funding covered only a portion of the overall requirements. Quantum Delta NL subsequently sought additional funding from the National Growth Fund.