Closed

Coordinate the first deployment of national EuroQCI projects and prepare the large-scale QKD testing and certification infrastructure

DIGITAL Coordination and Support Actions

Basic Information

Identifier
DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-EUROQCI-QKD
Programme
EU Secure Quantum Communication Infrastructure
Programme Period
2021 - 2027
Status
Closed (31094503)
Opening Date
November 17, 2021
Deadline
March 29, 2022
Deadline Model
single-stage
Budget
€2,000,000
Min Grant Amount
Max Grant Amount
Expected Number of Grants
Keywords
DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-EUROQCI-QKDDIGITAL-2021-QCI-01Communication technology, high-frequency technologyCybersecurityQuantum Technologies (e.g. computing and communication)

Description

Expected Outcome:

Expected outcomes and deliverables

  • A full set of requirements for an operational QKD infrastructure facility covering EU needs in terms of testing, experimentation, and validation of QKD devices, technologies and systems, with a view to their standardisation and accreditation [within the first six months of the action];
  • consolidated feedback from the national deployments at real scale, identifying the complementary activities (including technology developments) required to establish a complete the EU QKD ecosystem;
  • a well-coordinated assessment of the first deployments of EuroQCI networks and systems for preparing the full deployment phase of the EuroQCI.
Objective:

To coordinate the developments and findings of the national QCI projects; to prepare for the deployment of a flexible large-scale testing and certification QKD infrastructure that is in the service of all relevant actors of the participating Member States; and to assess the full-scale compliance of different EU technologies with a view to their later integration in EuroQCI. This support is needed to contribute to European technological autonomy in the highly strategic field of quantum communication technologies.

Scope:
  • Prepare to deploy a large-scale testing and certification infrastructure for QKD devices, technologies and systems, facilitating their standardisation and accreditation at EU level. The infrastructure will define the requirements for a fully operational QKD infrastructure facility covering EU needs in terms of testing, experimentation, and validation of QKD devices, technologies and systems, with a view to their accreditation; (including the definition of mutual recognition criteria in security).
  • Coordinate national QCI projects: support discussions on user requirements and use cases, and return of experience from the deployment of advanced national quantum systems and networks including on EU QKD components and systems; coordinate the activities for developing an EU QKD ecosystem and the industrialisation of QKD devices in the EU; support the discussions on the further development of the national deployment plans and strategic efforts, for achieving an overall EuroQCI system (spatial and terrestrial segments).
Delegation to Agencies:

Implementation: European Commission

Eligibility & Conditions

Conditions

Conditions

1. Admissibility conditions: described in section 5 of the call document 

Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System

2. Eligible countries: described in section 6 of of the call document

3. Other eligibility conditions: described in section 6 of the call document

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in section 7 of the call document

  • Submission and evaluation processes: described section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual

  • Award criteria, scoring and thresholds: described in section 9 of the call document

  • Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in section 4 of the call document

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in section 10 of the call document

Support & Resources

For help related to this call, please contact:us here

Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – Submission of proposals.

IT Helpdesk – Contact the IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.

Online Manual – Step-by-step online guide through the Portal processes from proposal preparation and submission to reporting on your on-going project. Valid for all 2021-2027 programmes.

Latest Updates

Last Changed: July 26, 2022

Flash information on the call results (FLASH CALL INFO)

Call for proposals: EU secure Quantum Communication Infrastructure

Call ID: DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01 

Published: 17-11-2021   Deadline: 29/03/2022

Total budget: 154.000.000 EUR

Budget per topic:

DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-DEPLOY-NATIONAL   EUR 108.000.000

DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-EUROQCI-QKD          EUR 2.000.000

DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-INDUSTRIAL             EUR 44.000.000      

The Comission has now completed the evaluation of the proposals submitted to the above-mentioned call. The results by topic can be consulted under topic updates.

We recently informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals.

It is expected that the first grant agreements will be signed by 22.12.2022. Please note that the number of proposals that can finally be funded will depend on the finally available budget and the formal selection by the Commission.

 

For further details please see the DIGITAL Europe Programme

Last Changed: July 26, 2022

The results of the evaluation are as follows:

DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-EUROQCI-QKD

Number of proposals submitted: 2

Number of inadmissible proposals: 0

Number of ineligible proposals: 0

Number of above-threshold proposals: 2

Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals: 3.996.575,16 EUR 

Last Changed: April 1, 2022

Call DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01  has closed.on 29th of March at 17:00hrs.

 The total number of proposals submitted under this call is 35. The breakdwon per topic is as follows:

 

Topic                                                                             Number of proposals

DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-INDUSTRIAL                                      8

DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-DEPLOY-NATIONAL                         25

DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-EUROQCI-QKD                                 2

TOTAL                                                                                    35 

Last Changed: January 25, 2022
The submission session is now available for: DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-DEPLOY-NATIONAL(DIGITAL-SIMPLE), DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-EUROQCI-QKD(DIGITAL-CSA), DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-INDUSTRIAL(DIGITAL-SME)
Last Changed: January 25, 2022

NB: Please note that the deadline for submission of proposals for this call, with call ID: DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01, and the topics belonging to it has been extended to 29.03.2022. at 17:00hrs (Brussels Local time).

Last Changed: January 25, 2022

NB: Please note that the deadline for submission of proposals for this call, with call ID: DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01, and the topics belonging to it has been extended to 29.03.2022. at 17:00hrs (Brussels Local time).

Last Changed: November 17, 2021
The submission session is now available for: DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-DEPLOY-NATIONAL(DIGITAL-SIMPLE), DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-EUROQCI-QKD(DIGITAL-CSA), DIGITAL-2021-QCI-01-INDUSTRIAL(DIGITAL-SME)
Coordinate the first deployment of national EuroQCI projects and prepare the large-scale QKD testing and certification infrastructure | Grantalist