EU Quantum Act policy expected by the end of this year. European policymakers, business personalities and investors gathered at the European Parliament last week for a high-level discussion about the next phase of the bloc’s quantum development. The panel touched on areas surrounding the development and sustenance of quantum technology in the bloc, with speakers noting that the region needs to translate its scientific expertise in the sector into industrial leadership that can be deployed across the single market. The event, called ‘Europe’s Quantum Moment: From Lab to Leadership’, was hosted by EU MEP Dr Sergey Lagodinsky, who, in agreement with other speakers, said that the bloc needs to understand how scale up and bring together scientists, engineers and start-ups to transform opportunities in the quantum sector into commercial capacity comparable to the US, which is already investing hundreds of millions in this type of technology. Between 2020 and 2025, the EU invested some €2bn in quantum technologies, complemented by around €9bn in additional funding from member states. In comparison, the US spent $2bn in federal incentives a few months ago to support two domestic quantum foundry companies and seven quantum computing companies, including IBM. The speakers at last week’s panel noted that Europe already has a strong base to build on, with research groups and companies active across areas including quantum computing, sensing, photonics, cryogenics and software. The bloc also has an established footing in this sector, with around 80pc of the components in quantum computers in Europe come from the bloc, a speaker said. The EU has a number of up and coming quantum businesses, including Ireland’s Equal1, which raised $60m in January, Switzerland-based Zuriq, which raised a seed funding round of $25.5m in July, and Finland’s IQM Quantum Computers, which, earlier this year, became the first European