With a budget of €2.7 million, this three-year project (October 2025 - September 2028) coordinated by LNE draws on the skills and expertise of a consortium of research organisations (LNE, Cnam, CEA, CNRS Institute Néel) and industrial partners, i.e. suppliers of quantum computers (Alice & Bob, C12, Quobly) and components (Isentroniq, Radiall, Silent Waves, VIQTHOR).

In summary

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MOCQUA is the second R&D project funded by the MetriQs-France programme. With a budget of €2.7 million, this three-year project running from October 2025 to September 2028 brings together eleven key players in the quantum ecosystem: LNE (coordinator), Alice & Bob, C12, CEA, Cnam, CNRS Néel Institute, Isentroniq, Quobly, Radiall, Silent Waves and VIQTHOR. MOCQUA’s main objective is to develop reference measurement methods for reliable and objective characterisation of the hardware components and subsystems required to build large-scale solid-state quantum computers. Providing reliable, comparable and objective specifications for these components will enable the optimisation of the operation of solid-state quantum computers, as well as securing the supply chain for components and subsystems. In this way, MOCQUA will strengthen the commercial positioning of French suppliers and facilitate the adoption of emerging quantum technologies by the market. Finally, the technical specifications firmly established by metrology will support standardisation work that will contribute to the recognition of the measurement methods developed as benchmarks on an international scale.

Context and issues

In a context of fierce international competition involving both states and private players including digital giants, France is striving to become a major player in the field of quantum technologies. To this end, it adopted a National Strategy on Quantum Technologies in 2021. France decided to increase its investment effort to €1.8 billion (including €1 billion in public funding between 2021 and 2025) to strengthen its scientific and technical skills, establish solid supply chains and industrial sectors, and assert the interests of its companies and enable them to maintain their competitive edge over time.

However, the long-term adoption and deployment of quantum technologies on a large scale faces numerous scientific, technological, and engineering challenges. Suppliers and potential users of these technologies deplore the lack of reference measurement frameworks that provide reliable and objective measurement of product characteristics and performance and create competitive equity among market players. Metrology must therefore address this major challenge and fully play its role in supporting innovation and industrialisation, and building trust.

Given the complexity of the systems and the subtlety of the properties involved, the needs or the measurement conditions, the subject of characterising quantum technologies and enabling technologies is essential, innovative and demanding because the measurement challenges are very real. Much work remains to be analyse the real performances of these emerging technologies in an unbiased, objective and neutral manner, and thus avoid any overbidding and misinformation leading to unfair competition between the players present on the market. Developing shared measurement methods and providing reliable and objective measurements will help build confidence in the performances of quantum technologies, an essential prerequisite for their adoption by industry and society.

Mastering enabling technologies is critical for structuring industrial value chains and national sovereignty because they are regularly the subject of geopolitical tensions, especially in the case of quantum computers. With significant penetration capacity, enabling technologies will also find outlets in other non-quantum sectors in the very short term, with a strong economic impact in terms of industrial jobs and economic growth.

Objectives

With the support of the MetriQs-France programme and a budget of €2.7 million over three years (October 2025 - September 2028), the MOCQUA project aims to develop reference measurement methods for reliable and objective characterisation of the hardware components and subsystems required to build large-scale solid-state quantum computers. The technologies analysed are related to the implementation of superconducting and semiconductor/spin qubits.

MOCQUA’s primary objective is structured around three main areas: science and technology, industrialisation, and the market:

• Optimising the operation of solid-state quantum computers through the integration of reliable components and subsystems with proven performance.
• Securing the supply chain for components and subsystems.
• Commercial positioning of French suppliers and market adoption of emerging quantum technologies.

Furthermore, metrology work will be linked to standardisation efforts, in a virtuous relationship of mutual benefits: standardisation contributing to the recognition of measurement methods developed as references and drawing on technical specifications firmly established by metrology.

Consortium

The MOCQUA project brings together eleven key players in the quantum ecosystem representing research organisations (LNE, CEA, Cnam, CNRS Néel Institute) and industrial partners, i.e. suppliers of quantum computers and components (Alice & Bob, C12, Isentroniq, Quobly, Radiall, Silent Waves, VIQTHOR).

• LNE is the project coordinator and actively participates in the scientific and technical work. Thanks to its status as a trusted third party, it guarantees the impartiality and independence of the reference measurement methods developed. LNE also ensures the promotion and exploitation of results, particularly in metrology and standardisation. Finally, LNE is the coordinator of the MetriQs-France programme, the national programme of measurement methods, evaluation and standardisation of quantum technologies, which is part of the French National Strategy on Quantum Technologies (SNQ).
• Alice & Bob is an innovative company specialising in quantum computing, founded in 2020 and with more than 150 employees. It is currently developing a universal and error-free quantum computer using cat qubits, an innovative superconducting qubit technology. These qubits have the property of autonomously correcting some of the errors limiting the power of current quantum processors.
• C12 is an innovative company specialising in quantum computing, founded in 2020 and with more than 50 employees. C12 is a pioneer in the use of carbon nanotubes to create high-fidelity spin qubits, integrated into a cQED (circuit quantum electrodynamics) architecture. It thus continues its mission to develop a large-scale, error-tolerant quantum computer.
• CEA is represented on the one hand by its Technological Research Division (DRT) involving in particular the LETI Institute dedicated to microelectronic technologies and the Laboratory for Integration of Systems and Technology (CEA-List) focused on digital uses and hardware and software for complex information systems, and on the other hand by the Laboratory for Quantum Photonics, Electronics and Engineering (PHELIQS) which conducts fundamental research in the fields of nanophysics and condensed matter physics, mainly upstream of information and communication technologies.
• Cnam is one of the four laboratories of the French National Metrology Network  operating in the quantum field. It carries out scientific and technological research in metrology in the fields of lengths, masses and associated quantities, temperatures, thermal properties of materials, nano-dimensions and photonics. This research is intended to establish, qualify, and disseminate national references, to develop and characterise new measurement principles, and to meet industrial and societal needs through study and calibration services.
• CNRS Néel Institute is a fundamental research laboratory in condensed matter physics. Its activities cover a wide range of themes, combining fundamental exploration and technological applications. It has strong expertise in measuring transport in nanostructures in extreme environments (low noise, low temperature and high magnetic field). In recent years, the Néel Institute has acquired high-level expertise in the field of quantum manipulation of individual electrons, both for charge and spin.
• Isentroniq is a newly established innovative company that designs and markets cryogenic and intra-processor cabling solutions capable of multiplying by 100, with constant infrastructure, the number of controllable qubits, in order to enable the advent of large-scale quantum computing.
• Quobly is an innovative company specialising in quantum computing, founded in 2022 and with 70 employees. Its mission is to leverage semiconductor innovation to fully exploit the potential of quantum technologies. By applying proven transistor manufacturing methods to the development of qubits, Quobly is paving the way for fault-tolerant quantum computers.
• Radiall is a mid-cap company (2024 revenue ~€430 million, ~3,000 employees) specialising in interconnection solutions for harsh environments towards the aeronautics, defence, space, telecoms and industrial sectors. Committed to quantum technologies for more than 12 years, Radiall offers a complete range of radiofrequency (RF) solutions adapted to cryogenic environments and quantum applications.
• Silent Waves is a high-tech start-up founded in 2022 and with approximately 10 employees, which aims to manufacture, characterise and commercialise travelling wave parametric amplifiers (TWPAs). Its expertise in cryogenic measurement of TWPAs is accompanied by in-depth knowledge of cryogenic microwave components and the requirements related to the readout of quantum systems.
• VIQTHOR is a high-tech start-up founded in 2022 and with approximately 10 employees, which develops electronics and photonics for quantum computers. It specialises in controlling and reading the qubits used in quantum computers. Its expertise lies in analog and digital signal processing and in the design of measuring instruments adapted to quantum computers.

Results

The project’s expected outcomes include:

• The development of reference measurement methods for characterising quantum components.
• Mastery of key quantities and influencing parameters for optimal operation of a quantum computer, with a view to scaling up.
• Characterisation of components and subsystems using the developed methods.
• Significant advances in metrology for quantum technologies.
• Progress in the development of measurement services for components on partners’ experimental platforms.
• Standardisation work in European and international technical committees dedicated to quantum technologies: CEN-CENELEC JTC22 and IEC/ISO JTC3.
• Strengthened scientific collaborations at the national (notably with the Q-Loop, Cryonext and QRYOLink programmes), European, and international levels.
• Acceleration of manufacturers’ technological roadmaps.
• Establishment of a supply chain for components for quantum computers.
• Strengthening the market positioning of French component and qubit suppliers.

All scientific publications related to the MOCQUA project are available on the HAL platform MetriQs-DEV-France .