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The “España Cuántica” meeting, held at the Ramón Areces Foundation, brought together leading figures from the scientific, business, and public administration fields, with the participation of more than 40 experts, researchers, and institutional representatives as speakers.
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The second day focused on Quantum Spain and the progress of this national project, which since 2021 has been driving the development of a solid quantum computing infrastructure in Spain.
As the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology came to a close, the Ramón Areces Foundation became one of Madrid’s key venues for scientific dialogue on November 27 and 28. Under the title “España Cuántica,” the event—opened by the Foundation’s Director-General, Raimundo Pérez-Hernández y Torra, and the President of the Royal Spanish Society of Physics, Luis Viña Liste—brought together institutional representatives, research leaders, and cutting-edge companies to discuss the current state of quantum technologies and the challenges that will shape their future competitiveness.
The first day featured notable contributions, including those of Eva Ortega, Secretary-General for Research at the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; Óscar Díez, Deputy Head of the European Commission’s Quantum Technologies Unit; and Aleida Alcaide García, Director-General for Artificial Intelligence at the Secretariat of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence.
Speakers reviewed national and European strategies for the development of quantum technologies and highlighted the need for closer collaboration between the public sector, the research community, and industry to accelerate adoption. In Spain’s case, this commitment is reflected in the country’s first Quantum Technologies Strategy, announced by the Government in April, with an investment of more than €808 million for the 2025–2030 period.
Aleida Alcaide emphasized the importance of Europe being fully prepared in quantum technologies, “equipping ourselves with the necessary infrastructures, as well as demonstrating the benefits of their application in strategic sectors.”
The program also included presentations of international success stories. Contributions by Dr. José Ignacio Latorre (Centre for Quantum Technologies, Singapore) and Freeke Heijman-te Paske (European Quantum Industry Consortium, QuIC) offered a global and comparative perspective on technological progress. In addition, representatives from the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem—Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech, Multiverse Computing, LuxQuanta, Quside, and Inspiration-Q—presented their breakthroughs and insights on the sector’s future.
Quantum Spain: Advancing Spain’s Quantum Computing Ecosystem
The second day was entirely dedicated to Quantum Spain, the national project coordinated by the BSC-CNS and promoted by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service through the Secretariat of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence (SEDIA). Participating teams presented the results achieved since 2021, including the development of the first quantum computer based entirely on European technology, operational since May 2025 and accessible through the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES).
“Today we can affirm that Spain has a solid technological foundation on which to continue building. Since its launch, Quantum Spain has achieved significant progress in research and talent development. Furthermore, we have reached a major national milestone by providing the country with a publicly accessible quantum computer. The next step is to strengthen and expand this ecosystem and enhance international collaboration to tackle the challenges posed by this field,” said Alba Cervera, Coordinator of the project.
The session showcased the ongoing research lines within Quantum Spain, as well as advances in key areas such as the design of quantum algorithms and their applications in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The program included several roundtables with project researchers, focusing on Quantum Machine Learning, quantum-inspired algorithms, and a panel centered on emerging quantum approaches and architectures beyond digital quantum computing.
The event was organized by the Ramón Areces Foundation, the Royal Spanish Society of Physics, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)—through the Spanish Network on Quantum Information and Technologies—and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center–National Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), with the support of the Quantum Spain project.
For those interested in exploring the event’s content in greater depth, the full recording of both sessions is now available.
November 27
Spanish version
English version
November 28
Spanish version
English version
