Europe intends to lead in the technologies that will shape the next decade
En una capilla reconvertida en Barcelona, Europa encendió esta semana una nueva pieza de su apuesta por la soberanía tecnológica: un ordenador cuántico analógico de 9,8 millones de euros, construido por ingeniería española y financiado con fondos públicos continentales. El gesto es modesto en apariencia, pero cargado de intención: un continente que decide fabricar sus propias herramientas para los problemas más complejos del siglo, desde el clima hasta la medicina. En la historia larga de la tecnología, este tipo de infraestructuras compartidas suelen marcar el momento en que una región deja de ser usuaria para convertirse en creadora.
- Europa lleva años dependiendo de infraestructura cuántica desarrollada fuera de sus fronteras, una vulnerabilidad que los gobiernos ya no están dispuestos a ignorar.
- La puesta en marcha del nuevo sistema analógico en el BSC-CNS amplía una plataforma que ya acumula 4.200 horas de cómputo cuántico en 53 proyectos de investigación activos.
- La combinación de dos máquinas digitales y una analógica crea una infraestructura híbrida capaz de abordar problemas que ningún sistema aislado podría resolver por sí solo.
- La corrección de errores y la fragilidad operativa siguen siendo obstáculos reales, y el salto a la computación cuántica a gran escala aún no está garantizado.
- El proyecto, respaldado por la iniciativa EuroHPC y fondos españoles, posiciona al continente para avances en modelado climático y descubrimiento de fármacos en la próxima década.
El Centro Nacional de Supercomputación de Barcelona activó esta semana un ordenador cuántico analógico de 9,8 millones de euros, construido por la empresa española Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech. La máquina se integra en la infraestructura MareNostrum 5, alojada en una capilla del recinto de Torre Girona que lleva décadas acogiendo los ordenadores más potentes de España. Es el tercer sistema cuántico del centro: los dos anteriores, instalados en febrero de 2025, ya han registrado 4.200 horas de cómputo en 53 proyectos de investigación.
La diferencia entre los sistemas no es menor. Las dos máquinas previas son digitales: operan mediante secuencias de puertas lógicas, son versátiles pero acumulan errores con rapidez. La nueva es analógica: en lugar de ejecutar algoritmos discretos, mapea problemas sobre estados físicos cuánticos y observa su evolución, una aproximación especialmente útil en física y química. Juntos, los tres sistemas forman una infraestructura híbrida que combina computación clásica, cuántica e inteligencia artificial de formas que ninguno podría lograr por separado.
El proyecto está financiado por la Unión Europea y la Secretaría de Estado de Digitalización e Inteligencia Artificial, dentro del marco EuroHPC, una iniciativa diseñada para reducir la dependencia tecnológica del continente. La consejera catalana de Investigación, Núria Montserrat, lo formuló con claridad: el objetivo es producir tecnología europea en suelo europeo, respaldada por política pública y alianzas continentales.
Los retos persisten. La corrección de errores sigue sin resolverse del todo, y las condiciones de operación son exigentes. Pero la puesta en marcha de este sistema sugiere que Europa ha decidido dejar de esperar soluciones ajenas y construir, desde sus propios laboratorios, la infraestructura que dará forma a la próxima generación de descubrimientos científicos.
Barcelona's National Supercomputing Center switched on a new quantum computer this week—a machine that cost 9.8 million euros and was built by a local company called Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech. The announcement marked a quiet but significant moment for European technology: a continent trying to build its own computing power rather than relying on machines made elsewhere.
The computer now sits inside the MareNostrum 5 supercomputing infrastructure, housed in a chapel at Torre Girona that has held successive generations of Spain's most powerful machines. This is the third quantum system the center has activated. The first two, installed in February 2025 under the name MareNostrum Ona, have already logged 4,200 hours of quantum computation across 53 research projects selected by Spain's supercomputing network. The new arrival is different from those two in a fundamental way: while the earlier machines are digital—operating through sequences of logical gates—this one is analog.
The distinction matters. Digital quantum computers offer flexibility and programmability but accumulate errors quickly and need constant correction. Analog systems work differently: they map problems onto quantum physical states and watch how those states evolve. This approach is well-suited for challenges in physics and chemistry, though it cannot execute the discrete algorithms that digital machines handle. Together, the three systems create something more powerful than any single machine: a hybrid infrastructure that can combine classical computing, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence in ways that neither could achieve alone.
The funding came from the European Union and Spain's State Secretariat for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence. The project sits within a larger European initiative called EuroHPC, designed to strengthen the continent's technological independence. Núria Montserrat, Catalonia's minister of research and universities, framed it in those terms: the goal is to produce European technology here, backed by public policy and continental partnerships, so Europe does not depend on other countries for its most advanced computing infrastructure.
Quantum computers work in a fundamentally different way than the machines most people use. Instead of bits—which are either zero or one—they use qubits, which can hold multiple values simultaneously. This allows them to run complex calculations in parallel, which is why they matter for problems like modeling climate systems or discovering new drugs. The speed advantage is not universal; quantum machines excel at specific kinds of problems, which is why the hybrid approach makes sense. Researchers can use classical computers for what they do best, quantum systems for what they do best, and artificial intelligence to tie it all together.
Since February 2025, when the first two quantum systems came online, researchers across Europe have been able to access them. The new analog machine expands what is possible. The center's role is to be a hub—a place where scientists from across the region can bring their problems and use infrastructure that would be too expensive for any single institution to build alone. The chapel at Torre Girona has become a kind of temple to European technological ambition, each new machine a statement that the continent intends to lead in the technologies that will shape the next decade.
Full-scale quantum computing still faces real obstacles. Error correction remains a challenge. The machines are finicky and require precise conditions to operate. But the arrival of this new system suggests that Europe is moving past the stage of waiting for others to solve these problems. It is building the infrastructure to solve them itself, and opening that infrastructure to researchers who might not otherwise have access to quantum machines at all.
Citas Notables
With technologies developed here, backed by Catalan and Spanish public policy and strong European partnerships, we can produce our own European technology and achieve strategic autonomy rather than depending on other countries.— Núria Montserrat, Catalonia's Minister of Research and Universities
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does it matter that Spain built this machine itself rather than just buying one from somewhere else?
Because quantum computers are becoming essential infrastructure for research—like particle accelerators or telescopes. If Europe has to buy them from the United States or China, it means those countries control access to the technology. Building your own means you control your own future in this space.
But the machine is analog, not digital. Doesn't that make it less useful?
It makes it differently useful. Digital quantum computers are more flexible, but analog machines are actually better at certain problems—physics simulations, optimization challenges. By having both types, researchers can choose the right tool. It's like having both a hammer and a wrench.
How many researchers can actually use this thing?
That's the whole point of putting it in a supercomputing center. It's not locked away in a corporate lab. Scientists from across Europe can submit projects, and if they're selected, they get access. Since February, 53 different research teams have used the earlier quantum systems.
What happens if the machine breaks or becomes obsolete?
The center has already planned for that. They're building a hybrid infrastructure—classical, quantum, and AI all working together. If one piece becomes outdated, the others can still function. And they're learning how to maintain and upgrade these systems themselves, which is part of the sovereignty question.
Is Europe actually ahead now, or just catching up?
Catching up, honestly. But the speed matters. Five years ago, Europe had almost no quantum infrastructure. Now it has multiple systems, and they're building more. The real test is whether European researchers can use these machines to make discoveries that matter.