Fernando Gonzalez Zalba Awarded Competitive ERC Consolidator Grant

Fernando Gonzalez-Zalba, Ikerbasque Research Professor at CIC nanoGUNE and Principal Engineer at Quantum Motion, has been awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant. The grant will fund project QuDos, an innovative research initiative focused on using semiconductor quantum dots as the basis for building ultra-low-power microwave qubit control and readout electronics for quantum computers. The research could be applicable to classical electronics used in all quantum computing modalities, not limited to silicon qubits.

“One of the biggest challenges in enabling a utility-scale quantum computing system is managing power dissipation produced by the classical electronics needed for control and qubit readout.  It’s a problem that every quantum computing modality will need to address if aiming to build an integrated quantum computing system,” said Gonzalez Zalba. “I am very excited our application was selected, so we can advance our idea of using semiconductor quantum dots to tackle this challenge and develop an integrated package that will deliver the benefit of quantum processors and classical electronics on a single piece of silicon.”

The ERC is the premier European funding organisation for frontier research. It funds creative researchers to run projects within the EU. Gonzalez Zalba’s grant is one of 349 Consolidator Grants awarded (out of 3,100+ applications) and is funded through the EU’s Horizon Europe programme. The research will be run within the framework of the research collaboration agreement between CIC nanoGUNE and Quantum Motion at nanoGUNE’s new Quantum Hardware laboratories in San Sebastián, Spain. 

“This is an incredible accomplishment for Fernando and a mark of his exceptional scientific excellence and visionary leadership,” said James Palles-Dimmock, CEO of Quantum Motion. “This ERC Consolidator Grant project reflects the level of deep, technical industrial research we’re undertaking at Quantum Motion. We welcome the opportunity to support Fernando’s research and advance how a silicon-based, integrated architecture can achieve fault tolerance and utility at scale using traditional CMOS transistor technology.”

“The opening, one year ago, of a new research group on quantum hardware led by Fernando Gonzalez Zalba at nanoGUNE—who joined through the Ikerbasque programme—together with the construction of new dedicated laboratories in our recently completed Quantum Tower and the collaboration agreement with Quantum Motion, has been a key step in consolidating our quantum nanoscience research pillar. We are now proud of this new achievement, which will further strengthen the research project we are jointly building with Quantum Motion,” said Jose M. Pitarke, nanoGUNE’s Director General.

About The ERC

The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe. The ERC offers four core grant schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants. With its additional Proof of Concept Grant scheme, the ERC helps grantees to bridge the gap between their pioneering research and early phases of its commercialisation. The ERC is led by an independent governing body, the Scientific Council. Since November 2021, The overall ERC budget from 2021 to 2027 is more than €16 billion, as part of the Horizon Europe programme, under the responsibility of European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva.

About CIC nanoGUNE

The Nanoscience Cooperative Research Center (CIC) nanoGUNE, located in the Basque city of San Sebastian, is a research center set up with the mission of conducting world-class nanoscience research for the competitive growth of the Basque Country. NanoGUNE is recognized by the Spanish Research Agency as a Maria-de-Maeztu center of excellence. 

www.nanogune.eu

About Quantum Motion

Quantum Motion develops and deploys full-stack quantum computers manufactured using industry standard 300mm CMOS wafer technology with the goal of delivering commercially viable, utility scale, fault tolerant systems. A key part of this approach is the development of cryoelectronics, integrating qubits with classical control circuits capable of operating at deep cryogenic temperatures, which enables extreme scaling of quantum processors. Fault tolerant quantum computing will enable the most powerful quantum algorithms, targeting solutions to currently intractable problems in fields as diverse as chemistry, materials science, medicine and artificial intelligence. The company employs over 100 people, across the UK, US, Australia and Spain and comprises specialists in quantum theory, hardware and system engineering and software. Learn more at www.quantummotion.com.