Technology hub: Colour centres in diamond

Qubits held by defects in a crystal, mostly nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond, read out optically.

Pillar

Quantum computing and simulation

Related codes

CPC: G06N 10/40 Physical realisations or architectures of quantum processors or components for manipulating qubits, e.g. qubit coupling or qubit control

Axis in the faceted taxonomy

Physical platform: Colour centres (draft — to be completed by the responsible team)

Validation

Proposed — not yet validated by an expert

Sources of the definition

2 sources

Quantum Flagship: Strategic Research and Industry Agenda (SRIA) for quantum technologies, draft for the second phase of the public consultation; chapter 3, Quantum Sensing & Metrology Roadmap Update 2026 (pp. 75 to 100), chapter 1, Quantum Computing & Simulation Roadmap Update 2026 (pp. 3 to 42) (read 2026-10-29)
EPO and USPTO: G06N10/40 Physical realisations or architectures of quantum processors or components for manipulating qubits (broader match) (read 2026-10-29)

45 confirmed items. Including suggestions by rules or AI, not yet reviewed: 58. Suggestions are counted, not listed.

Key items: EU and national projects

C-QuENS: Capacitation of Quantum-Entangled NV-Center Sensing CORDIS; EU contribution (maximum grant agreed) EUR 2,999,990
Interaction of Color Centers in Diamond: Towards Next-Generation Quantum Sensors OpenAIRE Graph (national funders); funded amount EUR 687,001
WOUAH: W cOlor centers for integrated qUAntum pHotonics ANR (France); ANR aid allocated EUR 512,706.75

Key items: Organisations and companies

Universiteit Hasselt Organisation
Universidad Politecnica de Cartagena Organisation
Universitaet Ulm Organisation

The technology atlas and the full lists follow; every section is listed under “Sections of this hub page”.

Expert review sheet of the faceted taxonomy (every value, definition and source)

Colour centres in diamond is a technology family of Quantum computing and simulation, highlighted with its area and its parts tree subsystems; every node opens its page. Open the full taxonomy map

Overview

The technology atlas of Colour centres in diamond: 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	No evidence found in these sources	0
Actors by role	Documented in these sources	9
Facilities and access	Documented in these sources	3
Funding	Documented in these sources	5
Patents and publications	Documented in these sources	1
Standards	Documented in these sources	13
Policy measures	Documented in these sources	6
Evidence gaps	No evidence found in these sources	0

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).

No evidence found in these sources. The parts tree has no platform or part for this technology.

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	0	No evidence found in these sources	0 organisations in the table below.
Host, operator or access provider	3	Documented in these sources	3 organisations in the table below.
Funder or programme	3	Documented in these sources	3 organisations in the table below.
Researcher or developer	3	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 Colour centres in diamond by role
Organisation	Role	Country	Relationship	Source and date read
Coordinated by Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR); 31 participants	Host, operator or access provider	EU	Hosts DIREQT	Source (read 2026-10-21)
Coordinated by VTT; 21 partners from 9 European countries	Host, operator or access provider	EU	Hosts Qu-Pilot	Source (read 2026-10-19)
TNO, developed with TU Delft	Host, operator or access provider	NL	Hosts TNO Quantum Sensing Testbed	Source (read 2026-10-27)
Chips JU pilot lines	Funder or programme		Programme of DIREQT	Source (read 2026-10-21)
National programme or platform	Funder or programme		Programme of TNO Quantum Sensing Testbed	Source (read 2026-10-27)
Qu-Test and Qu-Pilot	Funder or programme		Programme of Qu-Pilot	Source (read 2026-10-19)

Supplier capability directory

Organisations and companies

3 confirmed items. Including suggestions by rules or AI, not yet reviewed and not listed here: 4.

Universiteit Hasselt Organisation
Universidad Politecnica de Cartagena Organisation
Universitaet Ulm Organisation

Companies of Colour centres in diamond 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.

Documented in these sources: 3 facilities.

Facilities of Colour centres in diamond, their deployment milestone and access routes
Facility	Kind	Country	Host	Status	Furthest evidenced milestone	Access routes
Qu-Pilot	Pilot line network	EU-wide or cross-border	Coordinated by VTT; 21 partners from 9 European countries	Project period ended, per the source	Accepting access applications	No current access route recorded
DIREQT	Pilot line network	EU-wide or cross-border	Coordinated by Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR); 31 participants	Project	Funded or agreement signed	No current access route recorded
TNO Quantum Sensing Testbed	Testbed	Netherlands	TNO, developed with TU Delft	In operation, per the source	Not in the deployment tracker	No current access route recorded

Infrastructure catalogue · Deployment tracker · How to get access

Infrastructure and deployment status

5 confirmed items.

DIREQT Infrastructure catalogue; EU-wide or cross-border; Project
Qu-Pilot Infrastructure catalogue; EU-wide or cross-border; Project period ended, per the source
TNO Quantum Sensing Testbed Infrastructure catalogue; Netherlands; In operation, per the source
DIREQT (Diamond for Industry REady Quantum Technologies) Deployment tracker; furthest evidenced milestone: Funded or agreement signed; technical status: Project under way (as of 28 October 2026)
Qu-Pilot Deployment tracker; furthest evidenced milestone: Accepting access applications; technical status: Project under way (as of 23 October 2026)

Catalogue entries with 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

Documented in these sources: 1 upcoming topic (pipeline read 2026-11-01).

Quantum Experimental Pilot Lines for Quantum Technologies EuroHPC Joint Undertaking; deadline 2026-11-17

Pipeline topics of Colour centres in diamond

Funding instruments

Funding instruments that name Colour centres in diamond
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 computing and simulation
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 computing and simulation
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 computing and simulation
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 computing and simulation

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

Funding instruments registry

EU and national projects

33 confirmed items. Including suggestions by rules or AI, not yet reviewed and not listed here: 42.

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 2,999,990	1	0
Total cost (includes the award)	EUR 2,999,990	1	0

Awards of the confirmed projects: National programmes, one line per measure and currency
Measure	Total	Projects with an amount	Projects without one
ANR aid allocated	EUR 1,649,121.63	4	0
award value (Gateway to Research)	GBP 614,900	4	0
funded amount	EUR 959,467	2	0
approved FWF funding	EUR 166,989	1	0
funded amount	SEK 3,400,000	1	0
award value (Gateway to Research)	0	0	7
current total commitment	0	0	1
funded amount	0	0	7

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.

5 confirmed project pages have no award record and are not in the totals.

C-QuENS: Capacitation of Quantum-Entangled NV-Center Sensing CORDIS; EU contribution (maximum grant agreed) EUR 2,999,990
Interaction of Color Centers in Diamond: Towards Next-Generation Quantum Sensors OpenAIRE Graph (national funders); funded amount EUR 687,001
WOUAH: W cOlor centers for integrated qUAntum pHotonics ANR (France); ANR aid allocated EUR 512,706.75
TRAMPOLINE: Quantum-grade diamond with spatially localized NV centres ANR (France); ANR aid allocated EUR 460,549.58
MICROSENS: Microwave quantum sensing with diamond color centers ANR (France); ANR aid allocated EUR 366,123.80

See all 33: EU and national projects

Jobs and funding calls

3 confirmed items.

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.

Patent landscape of Quantum computing and simulation in technology intelligence · All technology intelligence reports

Patents

No patent series for this node. Its CPC groups (G06N 10/40) are counted in the series of Quantum computing and simulation, together with other families.

Patent landscape of the pillar Quantum computing and simulation in technology intelligence

Standards

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

Documented in these sources: 13 tracked items.

Standards tracker items in the scope of Colour centres in diamond
Identifier	Title	Kind	Status
CEN/CLC/TR 18202:2025	Layer model of Quantum Computing	Technical report	Published
EAS 18433:2026	Quantum Computing - High-Level Programming Language	Specification	Published
EAS 18434:2026	Quantum Computing - Roadmap for Post-Processing Software in Space	Specification	Published
EAS 18435-1:2026	Quantum Computing - Hardware Abstraction Layer - Part 1: Descriptions and functional requirements	Specification	Published
prEN 18470 (WI JT022006)	Quantum technologies - quantum computing - Hybridization of High-Performance Computing and Quantum Computing	Work item or project	In development
prCEN/CLC/TR 18437 (WI JT022005)	Performance benchmarks of quantum computing applications	Work item or project	In development
prCEN/CLC/TS 18438-1 (WI JT022007)	Quantum Technologies - Quantum Computing - Cryogenic Solid State Gate-Based Quantum Computing - Part 1: Functional Requirements	Work item or project	In development
ISO/IEC 4879:2024	Information technology — Quantum computing — Vocabulary	Standard	Published
IEEE P7131	Standard for Quantum Computing Performance Metrics & Performance Benchmarking	Work item or project	Withdrawn
IEEE P3155	Standard for Programmable Quantum Simulator	Work item or project	Withdrawn
IEEE P3120	Standard for Quantum Computing Architecture	Work item or project	Withdrawn
IEEE P3185	Standard for Hybrid Quantum-Classical Computing	Work item or project	Withdrawn
IEEE P3329	Standard for Quantum Computing Energy Efficiency	Work item or project	In development

9 tracked items are about quantum technologies in general.

Standards tracker, filtered to this scope

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: 6 actions.

Strategy actions about Colour centres in diamond
Action	Status	Target	Why it is shown	Where in the strategy
Publish an EU Quantum Computing and Simulation Roadmap	Announced	2026	Names its pillar, Quantum computing and simulation	Section 2.2.1, text and action list (p. 7); Appendix, Area 2 (p. 23)
Expand the EuroHPC quantum computers	In progress (evidence)	2026 onwards	Names its pillar, Quantum computing and simulation	Section 2.2.1, action list (p. 7); Appendix, Area 2 (p. 23)
Set up a monitoring framework for quantum computing	Announced	2026	Names its pillar, Quantum computing and simulation	Section 2.2.1, action list (p. 7); Appendix, Area 2 (p. 23)
About 100 error-corrected qubits per system	Announced	By 2030	Names its pillar, Quantum computing and simulation	Section 2.2.1, text after Table 1 (p. 6)
Thousands of error-corrected qubits per platform	Announced	By 2035	Names its pillar, Quantum computing and simulation	Section 2.2.1, text after Table 1 (p. 6)
Establish six quantum pilot lines under the Chips Joint Undertaking	Delivered (evidence)	2025	Links a facility of this technology	Section 2.3.1 (p. 12) and action list (p. 15); Appendix, Area 3 (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.

No evidence found in these sources. No value chain is recorded for this technology, so no gap can be named.

News and events

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

A quantum setup moves from Delft to Karlsruhe 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.

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).
(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).
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).