A delegation spearheaded by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) has completed a visit to the Netherlands and Finland to seek cooperation opportunities in quantum technology.
The delegation, led by council Deputy Minister Lin Minn-tsong (林敏聰), was composed of experts from the Taiwan Quantum Program, the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute and the Industrial Technology Research Institute, the council said in a press release on Monday.
The group visited quantum technology research institutions and start-ups in Finland and the Netherlands from Thursday last week to Monday in an effort to connect Taiwan’s quantum research with the world, it said.
Photo courtesy of the National Science and Technology Council
The computing power of quantum computers would have a great impact on future information security, industry, finance and national defense, it said.
The Netherlands and Finland, with their research capacity and environment, have become strongholds for quantum technology in Europe, it said.
The delegation met with officials from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and toured IQM Quantum Computers, a pan-European leader in quantum computers, it said.
IQM, a spinoff of Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, has raised more than 71 million euros (US$77.6 million) in funds and is building Finland’s first 54-qubit commercial quantum computer, it said.
Lin shared Taiwan’s manufacturing and research and development capabilities in the semiconductor industry, and expressed hope that Taiwan and Finland could launch research and industrial cooperation in quantum technology, it said.
In the Netherlands, the delegation visited QuTech, a research institute for quantum computing and quantum Internet, and other quantum technology start-ups, it said.
QuTech, founded by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research and Delft University of Technology in 2014, has worked with Intel to create the first silicon qubits at scale at Intel’s D1 factory in Hillsboro, Oregon, it said.
The delegation learned about the development of quantum technology in the Netherlands and explored the possibility of quantum research cooperation with Taiwan, it said.
Taiwan last year founded a “quantum national team,” which consists of 17 research and development teams of interdisciplinary experts, academics and companies, Lin said.
The teams focused on subjects such as quantum components, quantum computers, quantum algorithms and quantum communications, he said.
By integrating these subjects in joint research and development, the team hopes to develop Taiwan’s unique core technology of quantum technology software and hardware industry, he said.
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