Technology hub: Atomic and optical clocks

Atomic and optical clocks is a technology family of Quantum sensing and metrology, highlighted with its area and its parts tree subsystems; every node opens its page. Open the full taxonomy map

Overview

The technology atlas of Atomic and optical clocks: its value chain, the documented actors by role, facilities, funding, patents and publications, standards and policy measures on one page, each from a source the portal already publishes. Each section says whether these sources document the technology, show an evidence gap or hold nothing about it.

The atlas at a glance: state and number of records per section
Section	State in these sources	Records
Value chain	Documented in these sources	4
Actors by role	Documented in these sources	11
Facilities and access	No evidence found in these sources	0
Funding	Documented in these sources	4
Patents and publications	Documented in these sources	2
Standards	No evidence found in these sources	0
Policy measures	Documented in these sources	4
Evidence gaps	Evidence gap in these sources	1

Documented in these sources: at least one record of these sources is about this technology.
Evidence gap in these sources: the parts tree names a stage, but no documented European actor is linked to it here. Evidence gap in these sources, not a finding of dependency.
No evidence found in these sources: No evidence found in these sources. It means only that these sources hold nothing on it.

Public layer: structure and documented actors only. Actor roles come from typed, dated relationships and are never inferred from shared projects or patents. Supplier assessments of the restricted dependency map are not shown on this public page. No technology readiness level is given.

External context: EPO Observatory: quantum technologies · EPO Deep Tech Finder

Value chain

The stages of this technology in the parts tree, a reference structure from review articles and EU law, with the European companies whose own product page names a product line for the stage or a part under it (the curated supplier directory).

Documented in these sources: 4 stages; 1 stage with an evidence gap.

Quantum sensors and atomic clocks: Alkali vapour cell sensors

Value chain of Quantum sensors and atomic clocks: Alkali vapour cell sensors: stages, materials and documented European actors
Stage	Level	Part of	Documented European actors	State
Alkali vapour cell sensors	Subsystem	Quantum sensors and atomic clocks	Cerca Magnetics; MAG4Health; QSENSATO; Safran Navigation & Timing	Documented in these sources
Alkali vapour cells	Component	Alkali vapour cell sensors	QSENSATO	Documented in these sources
Chip-scale atomic clock physics packages	Component	Alkali vapour cell sensors		Evidence gap in these sources Evidence gap in these sources, not a finding of dependency.
Optically pumped magnetometer sensor heads	Component	Alkali vapour cell sensors	Cerca Magnetics; MAG4Health	Documented in these sources

Parts tree of Quantum sensors and atomic clocks: Alkali vapour cell sensors · Suppliers of Quantum sensors and atomic clocks: Alkali vapour cell sensors in the supplier directory

Supply-chain parts and critical raw materials

From the parts tree: a reference structure of what each technology needs, down to materials, compiled from public review articles and EU law. It is not a supplier assessment.

Parts and materials of Quantum sensors and atomic clocks: Alkali vapour cell sensors 4 parts

Critical raw materials as listed in Annex II of the Critical Raw Materials Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1252).

Actors by role

Organisations with a documented relationship to this technology: a product line on the company’s own product page, the host or programme the infrastructure catalogue names for a facility, or the operator of an access route. Each row names its source and the date it was read. Roles are never inferred from taking part in the same project or patent.

Roles and their documented actors
Role	Actors	State	Where
Manufacturer or supplier of a part	4	Documented in these sources	4 organisations in the table below.
Host, operator or access provider	0	No evidence found in these sources	0 organisations in the table below.
Funder or programme	0	No evidence found in these sources	0 organisations in the table below.
Researcher or developer	7	Documented in these sources	Organisations confirmed under this technology by the classification; listed in “Organisations and companies” below. Participants in EU-funded projects are counted per pillar in technology intelligence.
User	0	No evidence found in these sources	These sources record no user of this technology.

Documented actors of Atomic and optical clocks by role
Organisation	Role	Country	Relationship	Stages	Source and date read
Cerca Magnetics	Manufacturer or supplier of a part	GB	Cerca OPM-MEG System (optically pumped magnetometer brain-imaging system)	Optically pumped magnetometer sensor heads	Source (read 2026-10-26)
MAG4Health	Manufacturer or supplier of a part	FR	OPM-MEG System (helium-4 optically pumped magnetometer brain-imaging system)	Optically pumped magnetometer sensor heads	Source (read 2026-10-26)
QSENSATO	Manufacturer or supplier of a part	IT	All-glass vapor cells and atomic-photonic chips (custom laser-written alkali vapour cells for optically pumped magnetometers, RF field sensors and atomic clocks)	Alkali vapour cells	Source (read 2026-10-30)
Safran Navigation & Timing	Manufacturer or supplier of a part	CH	Rubidium Clocks and Oscillators (MIRA, mRO-50, LPFRS) (rubidium vapour-cell atomic clocks and oscillators)	Alkali vapour cell sensors	Source (read 2026-10-26) Partly verified: the page does not state the quantum use.

Supplier capability directory

Organisations and companies

7 confirmed items. Including suggestions by rules or AI, not yet reviewed and not listed here: 17.

Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica Organisation
The University of Birmingham Organisation
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Organisation
Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika Organisation
Politecnico di Torino Organisation

See all 7: Organisations and companies · Companies of Atomic and optical clocks in the investor screener

Facilities and access

Facilities of this technology in the infrastructure catalogue, the furthest milestone the deployment tracker evidences for each, and the current access routes that open them.

No evidence found in these sources. The infrastructure catalogue lists no facility for this technology.

Funding

Upcoming work-programme topics in this technology (the EU programme pipeline) and the funding instruments whose stated quantum relevance names it. The awards of its EU-funded projects and the announced funding rounds follow below.

Upcoming topics in the programme pipeline

No evidence found in these sources. No upcoming topic of the pipeline (read 2026-11-01) names this technology.

Pipeline topics of Atomic and optical clocks

Funding instruments

Funding instruments that name Atomic and optical clocks
Instrument	Programme	Stated quantum relevance	Why it is shown
EIC Accelerator	Horizon Europe: European Innovation Council	The EIC Work Programme 2026 states that the Accelerator Open call remains available to start-ups and SMEs, including for quantum technologies, with specific safeguards on investments in quantum.	Names its pillar, Quantum sensing and metrology
EIC STEP Scale Up	Horizon Europe: European Innovation Council, Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP)	Quantum technologies are among the digital and deep-tech priority areas, and the EIC Work Programme 2026 says support for quantum start-ups will be pursued in particular through this call.	Names its pillar, Quantum sensing and metrology
EuroHPC JU quantum technology calls (Quantum Flagship)	Horizon Europe: Quantum Flagship, implemented by the EuroHPC JU	Since Council Regulation (EU) 2026/150 entered into force on 20 January 2026, the JU implements the Union's quantum technology agenda, including the Quantum Flagship funded through Horizon Europe, and its 2026 calls cover quantum computing platforms, QKD, testing infrastructure, pilot lines, sensing, machine learning and standards.	Names its pillar, Quantum sensing and metrology
QuantERA joint transnational calls	QuantERA: network of national research funders with European Commission co-funding	QuantERA is a network of research funders for quantum technologies, and Call 2025 covered quantum phenomena and resources and applied quantum science across communication, computing, simulation, sensing and metrology.	Names its pillar, Quantum sensing and metrology

6 more instruments are open to any field of research and are not listed here.

Funding instruments registry

EU and national projects

20 confirmed items. Including suggestions by rules or AI, not yet reviewed and not listed here: 22.

Awards of the confirmed projects: EU programmes, one line per measure and currency
Measure	Total	Projects with an amount	Projects without one
EU contribution (maximum grant agreed)	EUR 4,642,371.72	1	0

Awards of the confirmed projects: National programmes, one line per measure and currency
Measure	Total	Projects with an amount	Projects without one
approved FWF funding	EUR 806,886	3	0
ANR aid allocated	EUR 693,398.39	2	0
award value (Gateway to Research)	GBP 1,012,413	1	0
total eligible expenditure	EUR 706,982.91	1	0
award value (Gateway to Research)	0	0	3
funded amount	0	0	8

Each project counts once. A total adds the amount each source states for its projects within one measure and one currency only: EU contributions, national awards and other measures are never added together. Total cost includes the award and is shown separately. A country filter keeps whole projects with a participant in the country, so its total is not the country's share. Programme envelopes, partner shares, co-funding and payments are separate layers and are never added to awards; payments are not published by the sources used. Outputs are linked only through an explicit project or grant identifier or reviewed documentary evidence, never by name alone; only a reviewed document can show a demonstrated contribution. CORDIS and Funding & Tenders amounts are one measure, the EU contribution (maximum grant agreed in the grant agreement, not payments). Country codes EL and UK are read as GR (Greece) and GB (United Kingdom). National and regional rows whose title names no quantum technology are left out unless asked for. EU and national totals are shown apart and never added.

Includes projects from the ANR open data: ANR, data.gouv.fr, ODbL 1.0; those rows are shared alike under the Open Database Licence.

1 confirmed project page has no award record and is not in the totals.

QuRIOUS: Quantum Research and Innovation in Optical clocks for Upcoming Scientists CORDIS; EU contribution (maximum grant agreed) EUR 4,642,371.72
A next-generation worldwide quantum sensor network with optical atomic clocks Kohesio; total eligible expenditure EUR 706,982.91
EQUINOCS: Enhanced quantum interactions for optical clocks ANR (France); ANR aid allocated EUR 449,858.39
Continuous Superradiant Lasing for Active Optical Clocks FWF Research Radar; approved FWF funding EUR 349,732
Enhanced quantum interaction for optical clocks FWF Research Radar; approved FWF funding EUR 329,034

See all 20: EU and national projects

Patents and publications

Patent counts come from EPO Open Patent Services in technology intelligence, by CPC group, and per EPO quantum concept in the technology intelligence reports; publications by OpenAlex topic. The patent series of this node and its documents follow below.

Documented in these sources: 1 indicator page of this technology.

OpenAlex topics

Advanced Frequency and Time Standards

Patent landscape of Quantum sensing and metrology in technology intelligence · All technology intelligence reports

Patents

No patent series for this node. Its CPC groups (G04F 5/14) are shared with other technologies, so no series isolates it.

Documents and publications

1 confirmed item.

The Impact of Quantum Technologies on the EU's Future Policies: Part 1 Quantum Time Document

Standards

Standards, specifications, committees and roadmaps of the standards tracker in the scope of this technology, each with its body and status.

No evidence found in these sources. The standards tracker holds no item in the scope of this technology.

9 tracked items are about quantum technologies in general.

Standards tracker

Policy measures

Actions of the Quantum Europe Strategy (COM(2025) 363) that name this technology or its pillar, or that link one of its facilities, with their status in the strategy tracker.

Documented in these sources: 4 actions.

Strategy actions about Atomic and optical clocks
Action	Status	Target	Why it is shown	Where in the strategy
Deploy a distributed network of quantum gravimeters	In progress (evidence)	2026 onwards	Names its pillar, Quantum sensing and metrology	Section 2.2.3, Quantum gravimeters (p. 10) and action list (p. 11); Appendix, Area 2 (p. 23)
Publish a Quantum Sensing Roadmap	Announced	2026	Names its pillar, Quantum sensing and metrology	Section 2.2.3, text and action list (p. 11); Appendix, Area 2 (p. 23)
Establish a European Q-MRI Pilot Infrastructure	Announced	2025 onwards	Names its pillar, Quantum sensing and metrology	Section 2.2.3, Quantum Magnetic Resonance Imaging (p. 10) and action list (p. 11); Appendix, Area 2 (p. 23)
Develop a quantum sensing space and defence technology roadmap	Announced	2026	Names its pillar, Quantum sensing and metrology	Section 2.4, Quantum technologies for security and defence and action list (p. 17); Appendix, Area 4 (p. 23)

Strategy implementation tracker

Evidence gaps

Stages of the value chain for which these sources link no documented European actor. Evidence gap in these sources, not a finding of dependency. A company may well supply the stage without a product page the directory has read; a missing record is never proof of a strategic dependency.

Evidence gap in these sources: 1 stage. Evidence gap in these sources, not a finding of dependency.

Evidence gaps of Atomic and optical clocks in these sources
Stage	Level	Part of	Platform	Reading
Chip-scale atomic clock physics packages	Component	Alkali vapour cell sensors	Quantum sensors and atomic clocks: Alkali vapour cell sensors	Evidence gap in these sources, not a finding of dependency.

Know a European supplier for one of these stages? Tell the editors

News and events

1 confirmed item. Including suggestions by rules or AI, not yet reviewed and not listed here: 2.

QuantERA Call 2025 Results: 39 Projects Driving Future Quantum Technologies News

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.

JRC Quantum Communication and Sensing Laboratory (EuroQCI testing and evaluation laboratory) (JRC page, 2026)
The JRC has been selected to host the EuroQCI testing and evaluation laboratory, building on the Digital Europe project NOSTRADAMUS (launched January 2024). The JRC describes its role as generating reproducible technical evidence with a view to future certification, not as guaranteeing that a product is free of vulnerabilities.
EU role in the global quantum race (Policy brief, 2025, handle JRC142902)
Policy brief on the global quantum technology landscape: public and private funding, innovation potential and market perspective.
Future Directions for Quantum Technology in Europe (Report, 2025, doi:10.2760/0891087, doi:10.2760/0209304, CC BY 4.0)
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).
JRC Ispra links up with atomic clock and the Quantum Backbone (JRC news, 10 June 2025) (JRC news, 2025)
The JRC site in Ispra was connected to the Italian Quantum Backbone, part of EuroQCI, and to a time signal from INRiM's caesium-fountain clock.
(Dis)Entangling the Future: horizon scanning for emerging technologies and breakthrough innovations in the field of quantum technologies (Report, 2024, doi:10.2760/9842945, doi:10.2760/6199218)
Horizon scanning of emerging quantum technologies and breakthrough innovations (FUTURINNOV project).
Cold atom interferometry for inertial navigation sensors (Report, 2020, doi:10.2760/237221)
Technology assessment of gyroscopes and accelerometers based on cold atom interferometry for space and defence (EUR 30492 EN).
Cold atom interferometry sensors: physics and technologies (Report, 2020, doi:10.2760/315209)
Physical principles of cold atom interferometry and how they are used in inertial and gravity sensors (EUR 30289 EN).
Patent analysis of selected quantum technologies (Report, 2019, doi:10.2760/938284)
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).