European Quantum Space at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

Since 2016, ICFO has been an enthusiastic participant in GSMA’s Mobile World Congress (MWC). An annual occurrence in Barcelona, the MWC is the world’s largest and most influential event for the mobile technology ecosystem. This year’s Congress took place between Feb 27th to March 2^nd and attracted more than 88,500 attendees from 202 countries across the globe. ICFO curated the European Quantum Flagship’s 100m² stand where Flagship partners and other EU Quantum initiatives showed their most mature technology and disruptive innovations, connected with the global audience, and pressed forward to enable the integration of these technologies in the market.

Interest is definitely increasing for quantum technologies, as illustrated by the curiosity demonstrated by visitors who wanted to know more about the efforts of the European Commission to advance Europe’s academic and industrial capabilities in this area, and also, importantly, how to incorporate quantum technologies in their fields.

The European Quantum Space gathered European quantum companies and initiatives, all showcasing their products and services within the stand.

Companies

• Q-bird
• LuxQuanta
• Qilimanjaro 
• IDQ Europe 
• Quside 
  Qnami
• Terra Quantum
• QMWare

Initiatives:

• Quantum Valley Lower Saxony (QVLS)
• Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA)
• QSNP
• PASQUANS2 (two initiatives that will be starting in spring of 2023)

Within the European Quantum Space, companies and initiatives announced their newest products and milestones and connected with an audience in a series of Quantum Coffee Talks, expanding possibilities to create potential synergies and business opportunities.

A number of high-profile guests visited the space, starting with the European Commissioner of Internal Market, Thierry Breton who was interested in learning about the quantum ecosystem in Europe through the different companies and initiatives present in the booth.

“The future of connectivity will also be with #quantum Internet! Inspiring visit of the European Quantum Flagship initiative —  with first tangible results of research & #innovation activities funded by Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe EU funding programmes” – European Commissioner of Internal Market Thierry Breton (view full tweet)

Following the Commissioner’s visit, the stand also received visits from members of the Catalan government, notably the President of the Generalitat de Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, and the Minister of Business and Labor of the Generalitat, Roger Torrent, as well as Montserrat Ballarín, Councillor of Commerce and Markets from the Barcelona City Hall.