“Europe is having everything what is needed to be competitive, and few technologies symbolise this future more clearly than quantum technologies. “, said Henna Virkkunen, Executive VP for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at the European Commission.
To achieve global industrial competitiveness “it is really essential, especially at this juncture to have the public and private sector working hand in hand in order to have a joint roadmap, joint priorities, which everyone can then forcefully back up.”, said Marc Lemaitre, Director-General, Directorate General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission.
Therefore, QBN proudly teamed up with Forum Europe as Global Industry Partner gathering over 160 participants from the quantum community, public authorities and decision makers at Quantum Europe in Brussels on 1 Oct 2025, an important platform for political discussion on the future of the global and European Quantum Industry.
Celebrating Quantum in Action: Real-World Successes and Industry Adoption was the theme of the liveliest panel at Quantum Europe – something we should do more often: celebrating success. The panel included Gustav Kalbe (European Commission), QBN’s CEO Johannes Verst, Mira Yossifova (Ministry of Innovation and Growth, Bulgaria), Gerald Mullally (Oxford Quantum Circuits), Lene B. Oddershede (Novo Nordisk Foundation), Pierre Desjardins (C12), and was moderated by Andrea G. from Adigital.
„Quantum is not science fiction, Quantum is real. Quantum is happening now.“ emphasised Gustav Kalbe, Acting Director, Enabling and Emerging Technologies and Head of Unit, Quantum Technologies, DG CONNECT at the European Commission.
Johannes highlighted that Europe’s quantum community is already showing strong momentum across several fields. Companies such as QTI SRL are already applying and deploying quantum communication while NVision Imaging Technologies and Quantum Diamonds are delivering quantum sensor solutions that are in operation at hospitals and chip manufacturing facilities. Pasqal, IQM and OQC are advancing the development and deployment of quantum computing systems. These achievements show that quantum technologies are already moving beyond research into real-world applications.
At the same time, QBN’s CEO further pointed to one critical gap that Europe must address — the lack of a genuine European market for quantum, deep tech, and cloud products. Without a European market, purpose-driven procurement, and an industrial framework that encourages growth, Europe will lose startups, capital, and talent to regions with stronger markets and investment opportunities.
„Quantum could boost national GDP up to 8%“, elaborated Gerald Mullally, CEO at OQC.
QBN is convinced that building a genuine European market is the next decisive step. Reducing fragmentation, aligning national and EU-level initiatives, and taking decisive, immediate action to implement existing strategies will allow Europe to turn its research and innovation strengths into real economic impact, the foundation for social cohesion and our democracy.
“Europe has a treasure in quantum. Let’s secure it, build on it, and act boldly,” said Johannes Verst, CEO of QBN.
As Global Industry Partner of the Forum, QBN represented the global and European quantum industry and continuous driving its mission of building a resilient and thriving quantum economy.
Join us in our mission to build a thriving quantum economy and a future where Europe leads in both technology and purpose: QBN › Membership
