July 22, 2026 -- NWO has opened the call ‘Security and Resilience in a Quantum Era for applications. Researchers are invited to submit proposals for research on portable entanglement in quantum networks and post-quantum cryptography. The focus is on fundamental research, with further development and long-term applications in defence-relevant contexts in mind. Proposals may be submitted individually or on behalf of a consortium consisting of researchers and societal partners.

Aim of this call

The aim of this research programme is to strengthen a future-proof, sustainable knowledge base in the field of quantum technology. This Call for Proposals distinguishes between two lines of research:

• Research line 1: Portable entanglement for quantum networking applications. The aim of this research line is to investigate pathways towards making entanglement ‘portable’: i.e. entanglement is generated at one location (which may be via fibre-optics networks or satellites) and then stored in a portable memory for extended periods of time (e.g. a day).
• Research line 2: Post-quantum cryptography (PQC). This line of research aims to increase our knowledge and confidence in the security of existing and new cryptographic algorithms, schemes and protocols. These techniques must be resistant to quantum attacks, but can be implemented on conventional ICT systems without the need for quantum hardware. 

Budget

This call provides a total of € 4.550.000. For research line 1 between € 1.000.000 and a maximum of € 1.500.000 subsidy can be applied for per project. For research line 2 a maximum of € 385.000 can be applied for per project. For each research line, the two highest-scoring applications are nominated for funding.

Important dates

• Information meeting (optional): 15 September 2026 from 09:00 to 11:00 CEST.
• Submission of letter of intent (mandatory): 29 September 2026, 14:00:00 CEST.
• Submission of a request for review of research organisations based in the Netherlands (mandatory if applicable): 6 October 2026, 14:00:00 CEST.
• Submission of full proposal: 3 November 2026, 14:00:00 CEST.

Information meeting

On tuesday 15 september 2026 NWO will hold an information meeting from 09:00 to 11:00 hrs. During this online session, more information will be provided about the call and the application and assessment procedure. There will also be room to ask NWO and the Ministry of Defence questions. More information and the registration form can be found on the meeting website.

Funded by the Ministry of Defence

NWO and the Ministry of Defence are collaborating on several programmes aimed at stimulating knowledge development and knowledge utilisation with and by civilian research organisations, thereby contributing to the security and innovative capacity of the Netherlands in both the short and long term. To this end, the Ministry of Defence has committed financial resources to NWO, which are being used to develop various research programmes centred on a range of themes. The cooperation agreement between NWO and the Ministry of Defence includes provisions on, amongst other things, knowledge security, scientific autonomy and matters such as open science.