April 07, 2026 -- In April, ‘SPINS’ (Semiconductor Pilot line for Industrial Quantum NanoSystems) was launched, one of the 6 European quantum pilot lines. Coordinated by imec, the consortium brings together 25 European RTOs, industry partners, and academic research groups to strengthen Europe’s leadership and sovereignty in this strategically important domain. The €50 million SPINS pilot line project has been made possible through the co‑funding support from the European Union’s Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) and the national and regional authorities of the participating Member States.

Quantum computing has become a highly strategic domain with economic and societal relevance rising sharply. Applications vary from breakthroughs in drug discovery and materials science to ultra-secure communications and next-generation navigation systems.

However, a gap remains between current quantum research and manufacturable quantum processors to enable significant quantum applications. Scaling the number of stable qubits (to as much as one billion) is key to building reliable and fault-tolerant quantum computers.

Given the technological complexity, including cryogenic operation, ultraprecise control electronics and highly specialized fabrication processes, and given the strategic importance of quantum chips, the EU Chips Act has established six complementary quantum pilot lines, each focused on a distinct hardware platform and collectively advancing quantum technologies in the space of quantum computing, communications and sensing. Within this portfolio, SPINS is the pilot line dedicated to semiconductor‑based spin qubits, with a primary focus on delivering quantum chips for quantum‑computing applications.

Imec coordinates this new pilot line efforts and leads the European consortium of 25 partners, ranging from RTOs like Fraunhofer, VTT and CEA-Leti, industry (both large enterprises like Infineon and Siltronic as well as SMEs and startups) and academic groups (like TU Delft and University of Jyväskylä), bringing in complementary knowledge and skills, with the goal of translating the strategic framework of the EU Chips Act into concrete actions.

The first actions of the SPINS-consortium include process and design optimization to establish a robust foundation for scalable, stable, and high-performing spin qubits, all on three different technology platforms: Si/SiGe, Ge/GeSi, and SOI. SPINS aims to establish a lab-to-fab route for this technology via Multi-Project Wafers (MPW) and standardized quantum Process Design Kits (PDKs), which lower entry barriers for startups and SMEs in semiconducting quantum technology and lay the foundations for European companies to build quantum know-how early on.

Kristiaan De Greve, coordinator SPINS: “Scaling qubits requires an extremely controllable environment and solid manufacturing processing, in view of the extreme sensitivity of qubits to environmental noise. These challenges require both the accuracy and control that is only present in state of semiconductor cleanroom infrastructure, combined with the research and innovation mentality to adjust such an environment to address these sensitive qubits. At imec, we’ve been creatively addressing complex problems with advanced semiconductor manufacturing for over 40 years. By bundling the expertise of our European consortium partners in this quantum pilot line, we will speed up the development of high-TRL semiconductor qubits and thereby enable larger-scale quantum systems made in Europe.”

Complementary tracks of the European quantum efforts, next to the semiconductor-based pilot line, include pilot lines on photonics for quantum ‘P4Q’ (coordinated by University of Twente, NL) - to which imec is also contributing, ion trap qubits ‘CHAMP-ION’ (coordinated by SAL, AT), superconducting qubits ‘SUPREME’ (coordinated by VTT, FI), diamond quantum chips ‘DIREQT’ (coordinated by CNR, IT) and neutral atoms ‘Q PLANET’ (coordinated by Pasqal, FR).

From Germany

ARQUE Systems GmbH, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Fraunhofer, IHP, Infineon, Siltronic and the University of Regensburg.

The German contribution will be on industrial semiconductor qubit technology based in Si/SiGe heterostructures. It will build on results from projects QUASAR (funded by the German Ministry of Research, Space and Technology) and EU Flagship projects QLSI and QLSI2, to turn qubit device fabrication processes into a reproducible, well-documented and accessible technology. Fabrication will be carried out at IHP and Siltronic (heterostructure substrates), Infineon Dresden (overall technology and process integration) and Fraunhofer IPMS (electron beam lithography and qubit-adapted packaging). These contributions will be complemented with characterization work at Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Fraunhofer IAF, the University of Regensburg and ARQUE Systems GmbH.