January 23, 2026 -- The European Innovation Council research project AMSwitch has been awarded SEK 30 million in funding to explore how a new spin degree of freedom in novel magnetic states could replace electric charge as the information carrier in electronic components. The goal is to realize faster, more secure, and ultra-energy-efficient data processing – offering a possible path beyond the limitations of today’s memory or transistors.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) recently announced the results of the EIC Pathfinder Open 2025 call, awarding nearly SEK 1.5 billion to research projects with the potential to turn visionary ideas into innovations for future markets.

The 2025 call attracted record interest from the research community, with applications from 71 countries. Out of a total of 2,087 proposals, 44 projects were selected for funding, with a success rate of only 2%. Each project will receive approximately SEK 30 million to explore breakthrough ideas in areas such as quantum technologies, advanced materials, health, energy, and artificial intelligence. Among the selected projects are two from Swedish universities, including AMSwitch, which is coordinated by the Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience at Chalmers University of Technology. With the grant of around SEK 30 million, the research team will investigate a completely new way of storing and processing information in electronic components – using a new magnetic state called Altermagnets.

“Receiving this highly competitive grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) to coordinate AMSwitch is an important milestone – both for our consortium and for the field of spin and quantum science and technologies. Now we aim to demonstrate that our bold scientific vision holds true: that symmetry-controlled altermagnetic phenomena can fundamentally reshape how we compute and build the computers of the future,” says Saroj Dash, Professor of Quantum Device Physics at Chalmers and coordinator of the project.

Using new altermagnetism to develop fast, energy-efficient electronics

Altermagnets are a newly discovered class of quantum materials that combine features of ferromagnets and antiferromagnets in an unexpected way. They have no net magnetization, yet their electronic bands are spin-split and can generate large transverse Hall signals without external magnetic fields. This hidden magnetic order can be controlled electrically and used to encode information in the magnetic Néel vector, offering a path to ultra‑fast, ultra‑low‑power and inherently secure electronic and spintronic devices.

In conventional electronics, electric charges are used to represent information. But as transistors continue to shrink, this approach imposes limits on both energy efficiency and speed. At the same time, part of the energy is lost as heat – a growing problem in devices such as smartphones and in data centres.

“In AMSwitch, we are exploring a completely new route for electronics, where information is represented by magnetism instead of electric charge. Our goal is to develop ultra-energy-efficient components that can also retain information even without power,” says Saroj Dash.

In traditional electronics, there are fundamental limits to how little energy a transistor can use. One way to move beyond this is to use a different “state variable” than charge – such as a magnetic state. More specifically, the researchers in AMSwitch are working with an exciting new class of materials known as altermagnets.

“We want to pursue something that could redefine the very limits of what new altermagnetic quantum materials and their unusual electronic states can do. We are not simply building memory or logic devices – we are laying the foundation for a new paradigm of secure, non-volatile, ultra-low-power computation rooted in new magnetic states originating from quantum principles. Whether we reach fully functional devices or primarily uncover fundamental insights into altermagnetism that reshape the field,” says Saroj.

Storing information in an internal altermagnetic “direction”

In the researchers’ approach, information is stored using the magnetic direction inside a material. The information is encoded in the so-called Néel vector, which describes how magnetic moments are arranged within the material. This state can then be read out electrically through a measurable signal – the anomalous Hall current – without the need for external magnetic fields.

“By linking information to the Néel vector, we can both store and read it electrically, without external magnetic fields. A major advantage of this concept is that it can avoid certain energy-intensive steps found in other spintronic solutions, making the components simpler, more robust and potentially more energy-efficient,” Saroj explains.

Bringing together leading experts

The AMSwitch consortium brings together a uniquely interdisciplinary team of leading European experts in quantum materials, magnetism, device engineering, and advanced material characterisation.

“Leading this exceptional interdisciplinary European team on the journey from the discovery of new altermagnetic quantum materials to functional logic devices – and beyond – is both a profound responsibility and an extraordinary privilege. I am deeply honoured and look forward to taking this new research field to the next level, both in terms of understanding and applications in spin and quantum technologies,” says Saroj Dash.

Partners of the project are:

• 1. Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden (CHALMERS), Coordinator.
• 2. National Center for Scientific Research Demokritos, Greece
• 3. Fundacio institut catala de nanociencia i nanotecnologia, Spain
• 4. Leibniz institut fur festkorper und werkstofforschung, Germany
• 5. ALBA-CELLS, Spain
• 6. QZABRE AG, Switzerland