Europe in quantum: JRC-style indicators from open data
These indicators follow the structure of the JRC report Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe (JRC141050, 2025) but are computed by the portal from open data with published rules. They are not the JRC's figures, which rest on paid data (Orbis, Orbis IP, PitchBook, Scopus) and are only cited here.
Where Europe stands in quantum technology, in the indicators the JRC uses: the EU’s share of the world’s publications and patent families per pillar, their growth in 2017-20 against 2021-24, co-authorship and co-patenting with the United States, the United Kingdom and China, EU funding per pillar and programme, and when companies were founded. Post-quantum cryptography is shown separately, and totals are given with and without it. Each indicator states its open source, its date, how complete it is and why it can differ from the JRC’s figures.
Classification method: the keywords, CPC codes and topics behind every count · All indicators as JSON · EuroQCI projects and testing
At a glance
| Pillar | EU share of publications 2021-2024 | EU share of patent families 2021-2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Computing and simulation: computing search | 28.5% | 21.6% |
| Computing and simulation: simulation search | 36.8% | not available |
| Quantum communication | 28.2% | 18.7% |
| Quantum sensing and metrology | 31.2% | 9.1% |
| Post-quantum cryptography (shown separately) | 27.7% | not available |
| Quantum technologies, without PQC | 29.2% | 21.0% |
| Quantum technologies, with PQC | 29.3% | not available |
Publications: share of the works with at least one author country. Patent families: share of the families with a known applicant country; "not available" where the portal does not read the CPC groups of that pillar or the read has not started, "not yet available" until the publication months of the period are read (with the share read so far).
Definitions: EU share of the world’s quantum publications; EU share of patent families (provisional)
Share of the world’s publications
Articles, reviews and conference papers in OpenAlex whose title or abstract matches the published search of each pillar, with at least one author affiliated in the country or bloc, as a share of all matching works with a known author country. A work with authors in the EU and the US counts for both (whole counting). OpenAlex, CC0, read on 2026-10-25 (the snapshot shipped with the portal).
Source: OpenAlex (CC0), read on 2026-10-25; Quantum Europe calculation.
Show the data
| Item | Value (%) |
|---|---|
| Computing and simulation: simulation search | 36.8% |
| Quantum sensing and metrology | 31.2% |
| Computing and simulation: computing search | 28.5% |
| Quantum communication | 28.2% |
| Post-quantum cryptography (shown separately) | 27.7% |
| Pillar | EU27 2017-20 | EU27 2021-24 | US 2017-20 | US 2021-24 | UK 2017-20 | UK 2021-24 | China 2017-20 | China 2021-24 | Works with an author country, 2021-2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computing and simulation: computing search | 30.1% | 28.5% | 27.2% | 26.8% | 8.9% | 6.7% | 22.9% | 20.2% | 27,664 |
| Computing and simulation: simulation search | 44.3% | 36.8% | 32.5% | 36.0% | 11.7% | 8.1% | 17.9% | 21.5% | 2,728 |
| Quantum communication | 27.5% | 28.2% | 17.6% | 17.5% | 10.6% | 7.6% | 35.7% | 32.6% | 7,193 |
| Quantum sensing and metrology | 36.7% | 31.2% | 24.7% | 25.7% | 12.1% | 8.9% | 22.2% | 26.8% | 4,548 |
| Post-quantum cryptography (shown separately) | 31.8% | 27.7% | 21.3% | 16.9% | 8.6% | 6.1% | 17.1% | 17.6% | 3,582 |
| Quantum technologies, without PQC | 31.0% | 29.2% | 24.9% | 25.2% | 9.6% | 7.2% | 24.9% | 23.1% | 37,515 |
| Quantum technologies, with PQC | 31.1% | 29.3% | 24.8% | 24.8% | 9.5% | 7.2% | 24.6% | 22.8% | 39,535 |
Computing and simulation are one pillar since the portal follows the draft SRIA 2026. Their two OpenAlex searches were read separately for the shipped snapshot and overlap (a work can match both), so they are shown as two rows and never added; the totals search covers both once.
Definition: EU share of the world’s quantum publications
Source: OpenAlex (CC0), read on 2026-10-25.
Show the data
| Year | EU27 (works) | US (works) | UK (works) | China (works) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 971 works | 715 works | 275 works | 769 works |
| 2016 | 1,054 works | 851 works | 315 works | 760 works |
| 2017 | 1,223 works | 889 works | 425 works | 931 works |
| 2018 | 1,263 works | 1,042 works | 385 works | 1,064 works |
| 2019 | 1,680 works | 1,289 works | 534 works | 1,368 works |
| 2020 | 1,790 works | 1,565 works | 495 works | 1,421 works |
| 2021 | 2,215 works | 1,940 works | 645 works | 1,696 works |
| 2022 | 2,325 works | 2,148 works | 632 works | 2,075 works |
| 2023 | 2,867 works | 2,421 works | 665 works | 2,187 works |
| 2024 | 3,542 works | 2,939 works | 759 works | 2,697 works |
| 2025 | 4,317 works | 3,480 works | 988 works | 3,371 works |
Definition: Quantum publications per year by bloc
Post-quantum cryptography, separately: the EU share is 29.2% without PQC (37,515 works) and 29.3% with it (39,535 works); PQC alone, 27.7%. PQC is classical cryptography designed to resist quantum computers, so the JRC and the portal keep it apart from quantum technologies.
How and why this differs from the JRC’s figures
The JRC counts Scopus records found with its own keyword queries per sector (section 3.8), which it does not publish, and shows them as charts by country. The portal counts OpenAlex works (articles, reviews and conference papers) found with the published queries below; OpenAlex indexes more sources than Scopus and assigns countries from author affiliations, so counts and shares differ. A work is counted once for the EU when at least one author is in a Member State (whole counting).
The JRC’s figure, for comparison:
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here In publications the EU is second only to the US or China, depending on the quantum sector. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Key conclusions, PDF page 5; data: Scopus, downloaded April and July 2025; CC BY 4.0)
Growth, 2017-2020 against 2021-2024
Compound annual growth rate of the works per year within each period (first to last year, as the JRC computes it for patents), and the change of the period total. "World" is every matching work with a known author country.
Source: OpenAlex (CC0); Quantum Europe calculation.
Show the data
| Item | Value (%) |
|---|---|
| Computing and simulation: computing search | 18.9% |
| Computing and simulation: simulation search | 14.5% |
| Quantum communication | 14.2% |
| Quantum sensing and metrology | 13.1% |
| Post-quantum cryptography (shown separately) | 22.9% |
| Quantum technologies, without PQC | 16.9% |
| Quantum technologies, with PQC | 17.1% |
| Pillar | EU, yearly growth 2017-2020 | EU, yearly growth 2021-2024 | World, yearly growth 2017-2020 | World, yearly growth 2021-2024 | EU, change of the total | World, change of the total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computing and simulation: computing search | +15.7% | +18.9% | +18.4% | +20.7% | +101.5% | +112.7% |
| Computing and simulation: simulation search | +9.9% | +14.5% | +17.9% | +16.3% | +58.4% | +90.5% |
| Quantum communication | +5.9% | +14.2% | +10.8% | +13.8% | +65.9% | +61.6% |
| Quantum sensing and metrology | +14.8% | +13.1% | +15.9% | +16.6% | +58.4% | +85.9% |
| Post-quantum cryptography (shown separately) | +30.9% | +22.9% | +40.0% | +30.2% | +165.0% | +204.3% |
| Quantum technologies, without PQC | +13.5% | +16.9% | +16.2% | +18.5% | +83.8% | +95.6% |
| Quantum technologies, with PQC | +14.2% | +17.1% | +16.9% | +18.8% | +86.4% | +97.8% |
Definition: Growth of publications
| CPC group | EU 2017-20 | EU 2021-24 | World 2017-20 | World 2021-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All quantum CPC groups | Not yet available (13.9% read) | +22.5% | Not yet available (13.9% read) | +6.6% |
| Quantum computing and simulation | Not yet available (13.9% read) | +26.7% | Not yet available (13.9% read) | +5.1% |
| Quantum communication | Not yet available (13.9% read) | +8.6% | Not yet available (13.9% read) | +8.1% |
| Quantum sensing and metrology | Not yet available (13.9% read) | +38.7% | Not yet available (13.9% read) | +26.0% |
Partial data: patent families are published about 18 months after their priority date, so the last priority years are incomplete in every source; the growth of the late period is understated until they are read.
Definition: Growth of patent families (provisional)
Co-authorship and co-patenting with the US, the UK and China
Share of the EU’s works that also have an author in the partner country (OpenAlex, both countries in the authorships), per pillar.
| Pillar | With US, 2017-20 | With US, 2021-2024 | With UK, 2017-20 | With UK, 2021-2024 | With China, 2017-20 | With China, 2021-2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computing and simulation: computing search | 17.3% | 14.7% | 10.6% | 8.8% | 8.6% | 5.8% |
| Computing and simulation: simulation search | 19.7% | 22.1% | 12.0% | 12.3% | 9.3% | 7.3% |
| Quantum communication | 11.4% | 9.8% | 14.3% | 9.3% | 9.9% | 7.5% |
| Quantum sensing and metrology | 16.7% | 16.0% | 14.3% | 11.6% | 8.7% | 8.7% |
| Post-quantum cryptography (shown separately) | 14.7% | 10.0% | 8.6% | 7.1% | 3.7% | 2.2% |
| Quantum technologies, without PQC | 16.2% | 14.3% | 11.6% | 9.3% | 8.6% | 6.4% |
| Quantum technologies, with PQC | 16.2% | 14.1% | 11.4% | 9.3% | 8.5% | 6.2% |
Definition: Co-authorship with the US, the UK and China
Source: OpenAlex (CC0); Quantum Europe calculation.
Show the data
| Item | Value (%) |
|---|---|
| US | 14.3% |
| UK | 9.3% |
| China | 6.4% |
Co-patenting, 2021-2024: 3.1% of the EU’s patent families have a co-applicant outside the EU; 1.2% with the US, 0.3% with the UK and 0.3% with China.
Definition: Co-patenting with partners (provisional)
How and why this differs from the JRC’s figures
The JRC measures openness through co-patenting (23% of EU patent applications have a non-EU co-applicant). The portal shows co-authorship (OpenAlex works with authors in the EU and in the partner) and, where the patent read allows, co-patenting by applicant residence.
The JRC’s figure, for comparison:
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here About 23% of EU quantum patent applications are co-patented with applicants outside the EU, against 3% for China, 6% for the US and 9% for Japan. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.4.2, PDF page 28; data: Moody's Orbis IP; CC BY 4.0)
Share of patent families
Partial data. EPO patent families (DOCDB simple families) in the four CPC groups the portal reads, by earliest priority year and applicant residence, as far as the reader has gone: 63 of 143 publication windows since 2015, aggregate of 2026-11-02. Completeness is the share of the needed publication months read; the shares of a period are published once 90% of its months are read, because before that they rest on a fraction of the families and can move a lot. The families read so far are counted. There is no CPC group for PQC, and quantum sensing is limited to atomic clocks.
| CPC group and period | Families with a known country | EU27 | US | China | UK | Japan | Completeness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All quantum CPC groups, 2017-2020 | 1,460 | Not yet available (13.9% read) | 13.9% | ||||
| All quantum CPC groups, 2021-2024 | 5,359 | 21.0% | 35.0% | 8.5% | 5.2% | 11.5% | 94.5% |
| Quantum computing and simulation, 2017-2020 | 1,069 | Not yet available (13.9% read) | 13.9% | ||||
| Quantum computing and simulation, 2021-2024 | 4,122 | 21.6% | 37.5% | 8.0% | 5.6% | 10.9% | 94.5% |
| Quantum communication, 2017-2020 | 411 | Not yet available (13.9% read) | 13.9% | ||||
| Quantum communication, 2021-2024 | 1,341 | 18.7% | 28.3% | 9.5% | 4.3% | 10.8% | 94.5% |
| Quantum sensing and metrology, 2017-2020 | 49 | Not yet available (13.9% read) | 13.9% | ||||
| Quantum sensing and metrology, 2021-2024 | 164 | 9.1% | 42.7% | 8.5% | 3.7% | 20.1% | 94.5% |
Definition: EU share of patent families (provisional)
How and why this differs from the JRC’s figures
The JRC counts about 30,000 patent families of 2017-2024 from Moody's Orbis IP, found with IPC codes and keywords in the full text, checked by hand and assigned to the ultimate owner's country (section 3.4, footnotes 114 and 117). The portal counts the EPO patent families its reader has read so far in four CPC groups only (no keywords, no manual review, no PQC), by the applicant's residence country, and only as far as the read is complete; quantum sensing is limited to atomic clocks (G04F 5/14).
The JRC’s figure, for comparison:
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here China owns 46% of the world's quantum patents and the US 23%; Japan and the EU 6% each. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.4, PDF page 27; data: Moody's Orbis IP; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here The EU ranks fourth in all four technologies, with about 10% of patents in quantum sensing, 9% in PQC and around 6% in quantum computing and in quantum communications. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.4, PDF page 27; data: Moody's Orbis IP; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here About 30,000 quantum patent families were filed in 2017-2024 (59% computing, 27% communications, 10% sensing, 4% PQC). The EU's 1,752 families grew at a compound annual rate of 50% in 2017-20 and 52% in 2021-24, against 46% and 25% worldwide. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.4, table 3, PDF page 27; data: Moody's Orbis IP, extracted December 2024; CC BY 4.0)
EU funding per pillar and programme
1,347 EU-funded quantum projects starting from 2015 to 2027 received EUR 3,107.6 million of EU contribution (CORDIS of 2026-10-16 and Funding & Tenders of 2026-10-21), an average grant of EUR 2.3 million. With PQC projects: EUR 3,107.6 million; without them: EUR 3,003.4 million.
Pillars, by the portal method shared by every page: 422 projects placed by their confirmed classification, 9 by the taxonomy rules on their title, 660 by the keyword suggestion of the snapshot and 256 not placed. A project in several pillars is split equally between them.
Source: CORDIS and EU Funding & Tenders Portal (European Commission reuse notice); Quantum Europe calculation.
Show the data
| Item | Value (EUR million) |
|---|---|
| Quantum computing and simulation | 1,159 EUR million |
| Quantum sensing and metrology | 681 EUR million |
| Quantum communication | 658 EUR million |
| Enabling technologies and supply chain | 141 EUR million |
| Quantum-safe security (post-quantum cryptography) | 104 EUR million |
| Pillar | Projects | EU contribution | Average per project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quantum computing and simulation | 584 | EUR 1,158.6 million | EUR 2.0 million |
| Quantum communication | 199.5 | EUR 657.6 million | EUR 3.3 million |
| Quantum sensing and metrology | 230.5 | EUR 680.7 million | EUR 3.0 million |
| Enabling technologies and supply chain | 45 | EUR 140.9 million | EUR 3.1 million |
| Quantum-safe security (post-quantum cryptography) | 32 | EUR 104.2 million | EUR 3.3 million |
| Not placed in a pillar | 256 | EUR 365.7 million | EUR 1.4 million |
Definition: EU funding per pillar
| Programme | Projects | EU contribution | Average grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horizon Europe | 647 | EUR 1,657.8 million | EUR 2.6 million |
| Horizon 2020 | 609 | EUR 1,004.6 million | EUR 1.6 million |
| Digital Europe Programme | 52 | EUR 236.8 million | EUR 4.6 million |
| Connecting Europe Facility | 20 | EUR 96.4 million | EUR 4.8 million |
| European Defence Fund | 13 | EUR 95.9 million | EUR 7.4 million |
| Erasmus+ | 4 | EUR 14.6 million | EUR 3.6 million |
| Single Market Programme | 2 | EUR 1.5 million | EUR 750,720 |
Definition: EU funding per programme
How and why this differs from the JRC’s figures
The JRC identifies almost 1,000 EU-funded projects worth about EUR 2 billion from 2012 to 2024 across many programmes, including Chips JU, EuroHPC, QuantERA and COST (section 3.3, table 1). The portal sums the EU contribution of the CORDIS and Funding & Tenders projects in its snapshot (Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, CEF, EDF and others), classifies each by its title with the taxonomy's rules and splits a project matching several pillars equally.
The JRC’s figure, for comparison:
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here Almost 1,000 EU-funded quantum projects (964) received about EUR 2 billion, an average of EUR 2.1 million per project; about 95% of the projects were funded through Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, about 70% of the budget. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.3, table 1, PDF page 24; data: JRC compilation of EU programme data; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here The European Commission invested more than EUR 2 billion in quantum technology between 2012 and 2024. (Source: JRC news, 13 October 2025: Quantum technology: 32% of the companies, but only 6% of patents are from the EU, JRC news, 13 October 2025; data: JRC compilation of EU programme data; CC BY 4.0)
When companies were founded
Of the 120 public quantum companies of the portal, 102 have a founding year stated by ROR or Wikidata (37 in the EU, 65 elsewhere). Founded after 2018: 21.6% of those in the EU and 16.9% of the others. The portal’s company list is European first and not a world census, so no world share of companies is computed.
Source: ROR (CC0) and Wikidata (CC0) records of the portal’s companies.
Show the data
| Item | In the EU (companies) | Elsewhere (companies) |
|---|---|---|
| Before 2000 | 12 companies | 14 companies |
| 2000-2004 | 8 companies | 5 companies |
| 2005-2009 | 2 companies | 8 companies |
| 2010-2014 | 1 companies | 8 companies |
| 2015-2019 | 8 companies | 21 companies |
| 2020-2024 | 6 companies | 9 companies |
Definition: When companies were founded
How and why this differs from the JRC’s figures
The JRC counts 441 quantum companies from Moody's Orbis, by location and sector (section 3.2, table 2). The portal lists the companies in its own directory with a founding year only where a source states one; its coverage is European first and is not a world census, so no world share is computed from it.
The JRC’s figure, for comparison:
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here Of 441 quantum companies located worldwide, 141 (32%) are based in the EU, about one quarter in the US and 5% in China. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.2, PDF page 26; table 2, PDF page 27; data: Moody's Orbis; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here 60% of EU quantum companies were established after 2018 (50% in China), against 29% of US companies. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.2, PDF page 26; data: Moody's Orbis; CC BY 4.0)
The JRC’s figures
The headline figures of JRC141050 and the JRC’s news item, cited with attribution under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. They rest on paid data and are not reproduced or recomputed here; the open indicators above differ from them for the reasons given under each section.
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here Of 441 quantum companies located worldwide, 141 (32%) are based in the EU, about one quarter in the US and 5% in China. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.2, PDF page 26; table 2, PDF page 27; data: Moody's Orbis; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here 60% of EU quantum companies were established after 2018 (50% in China), against 29% of US companies. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.2, PDF page 26; data: Moody's Orbis; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here China owns 46% of the world's quantum patents and the US 23%; Japan and the EU 6% each. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.4, PDF page 27; data: Moody's Orbis IP; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here The EU ranks fourth in all four technologies, with about 10% of patents in quantum sensing, 9% in PQC and around 6% in quantum computing and in quantum communications. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.4, PDF page 27; data: Moody's Orbis IP; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here About 30,000 quantum patent families were filed in 2017-2024 (59% computing, 27% communications, 10% sensing, 4% PQC). The EU's 1,752 families grew at a compound annual rate of 50% in 2017-20 and 52% in 2021-24, against 46% and 25% worldwide. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.4, table 3, PDF page 27; data: Moody's Orbis IP, extracted December 2024; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here About 23% of EU quantum patent applications are co-patented with applicants outside the EU, against 3% for China, 6% for the US and 9% for Japan. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.4.2, PDF page 28; data: Moody's Orbis IP; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here Almost 1,000 EU-funded quantum projects (964) received about EUR 2 billion, an average of EUR 2.1 million per project; about 95% of the projects were funded through Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, about 70% of the budget. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Section 3.3, table 1, PDF page 24; data: JRC compilation of EU programme data; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here The European Commission invested more than EUR 2 billion in quantum technology between 2012 and 2024. (Source: JRC news, 13 October 2025: Quantum technology: 32% of the companies, but only 6% of patents are from the EU, JRC news, 13 October 2025; data: JRC compilation of EU programme data; CC BY 4.0)
- Based on paid data, not reproduced here In publications the EU is second only to the US or China, depending on the quantum sector. (Source: JRC141050 Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe, Key conclusions, PDF page 5; data: Scopus, downloaded April and July 2025; CC BY 4.0)
Definition: The JRC’s own figures, cited
JRC and EU analysis
Reports and pages of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). Identifiers are those of the JRC Publications Repository; the portal does not reproduce their data.
- EU role in the global quantum race
Policy brief on the global quantum technology landscape: public and private funding, innovation potential and market perspective.
- Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe
Background analysis for the Quantum Europe Strategy: companies, patents, publications, supply chains, public funding and venture capital, by sector (communication including QKD, computing including simulation, sensing, and post-quantum cryptography).
- (Dis)Entangling the Future: horizon scanning for emerging technologies and breakthrough innovations in the field of quantum technologies
Horizon scanning of emerging quantum technologies and breakthrough innovations (FUTURINNOV project).
- Collaboration and Semantic Networks of EU-funded Research in Quantum Technologies: 2007-2019
Budgets, participants, host countries and collaboration networks of EU-funded CORDIS projects containing the word quantum, 2007 to 2019 (EUR 29821 EN).
- Patent analysis of selected quantum technologies
Patent applications in the EPO Global Patent Index for quantum computing, quantum key distribution, quantum entanglement and cold atom interferometry, with a discussion of method (EUR 29614 EN).
Sources, dates and completeness
- Publications: OpenAlex (CC0), read on 2026-10-25 (shipped); 50 requests of the next refresh still to read.
- Patent families: EPO Open Patent Services, aggregate of 2026-11-02, 63 of 143 publication windows read (partial).
- EU funding: CORDIS (1256 records, 2026-10-16) and Funding & Tenders (91 records, 2026-10-21).
- Companies: 120 public companies of the portal; founding years from ROR and Wikidata.
- Rules: taxonomy 2.2.0 and the indicator method of 2026-10-25; this page was assembled on 2026-11-02.