Technology intelligence report: Quantum memories (A2)

Download (Word)Download (JSON)Supply chain and index (restricted)The concept on the EPO platform

Key messages

• The OPS queries of the concept returned 103 patent families; 92 remain after 11 were screened out as false positives. [1]
• Applicants based in the United States appear on 29 families of the core, in the United Kingdom on 11, in South Korea on 7 and in Japan on 4. [2]
• Applicants based in EU Member States appear on 5 of the 92 families (5.4%). [3]
• University of Science and Technology of China holds the most families, 7 in total. [4]
• The latest phase, systems and networks from 2019, holds 48 families (52.2% of the core), 6 a year. [5]
• 3 families of the core have an EP publication among the documents returned (a lower bound). [6]
• Yttrium needs a Chinese export licence under MOFCOM and GACC Announcement No. 18 of 2025, in force since 4 April 2025. [7]
• 10 standards tracker items are linked to the concept as the context a deployment would sit in. [8]
• CORDIS lists 39 projects classified under the concept's taxonomy families. [9]

Each message restates the numbered fact in brackets; facts and sources are listed below. Written by fixed templates and checked like the policy briefings; no AI text.

Patent landscape

103 families found by the concept queries, 92 after screening; 79 have an organisation applicant on record; 3 have an EP publication among the documents returned (a lower bound). Read on 26 October 2026.

Raw materials

Yttrium

Host lattice of the most used rare-earth memory crystals (Y2SiO5, YAG). EU list: heavy rare earth elements (Annex II, Section 1, point (q)).

• The USGS reports no fully commercial facility in the United States that could separate or refine yttrium. (Official statistic; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Yttrium, Domestic Production and Use)
• U.S. imports of yttrium alloys, compounds and metals in 2021-24 came 70% from China, 11% from Germany and 8% from Austria; the USGS notes nearly all were derived from concentrates processed in China. (Official statistic; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Yttrium, Import Sources (2021-24))
• The USGS estimates 2025 world mine production of yttrium oxide equivalent at 10,000 to 15,000 tons, most of it from China, with a significant share from Burma. (Official estimate; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Yttrium, World Mine Production and Reserves)
• Export control (CN): MOFCOM and GACC Announcement No. 18 of 2025, item 1C908 (yttrium metal, alloys, targets, oxide and compounds), 2025-04-04; in force; licence required for export. (Announcement No. 18 of 2025 of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs: export control on some medium and heavy rare earth related items; verified)
• USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries give no global refining or separation share for yttrium; only the qualitative statement that China produced most of the world supply.

Erbium

Dopant for telecom-band memories (Er:Y2SiO5, erbium-doped fibre). EU list: heavy rare earth elements (Annex II, Section 1, point (q)).

• U.S. imports of erbium compounds and metals in 2021-24 came 51% from Germany, 40% from China and 9% from the Netherlands; the USGS notes the German and Dutch material was derived from concentrates and intermediates produced elsewhere. (Official statistic; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths (heavy), Import Sources (2021-24))
• The USGS reports that no U.S. company produced heavy rare earths in sustained commercial-scale quantities in 2025. (Official statistic; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths (heavy), Domestic Production and Use)
• Export control (CN): MOFCOM and GACC Announcement No. 57 of 2025, items 1C909 (holmium) to 1C913 (ytterbium), including 1C910 erbium, 1C911 thulium and 1C912 europium, 2025-10-09; suspended before it took effect: Announcement No. 70 of 2025 suspends it from 7 November 2025 until 10 November 2026; no extension or new decision on mofcom.gov.cn as of 27 October 2026. (Announcement No. 70 of 2025 of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs: suspension of Announcements Nos. 55, 56, 57 and 58 and MOFCOM Announcements Nos. 61 and 62 of 2025; verified)
• No global separation share for erbium in the USGS summaries.

Europium

Dopant of the longest-lived solid-state memories (Eu:Y2SiO5). EU list: heavy rare earth elements (Annex II, Section 1, point (q)).

• Export control (CN): MOFCOM and GACC Announcement No. 57 of 2025, items 1C909 (holmium) to 1C913 (ytterbium), including 1C910 erbium, 1C911 thulium and 1C912 europium, 2025-10-09; suspended before it took effect: Announcement No. 70 of 2025 suspends it from 7 November 2025 until 10 November 2026; no extension or new decision on mofcom.gov.cn as of 27 October 2026. (Announcement No. 70 of 2025 of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs: suspension of Announcements Nos. 55, 56, 57 and 58 and MOFCOM Announcements Nos. 61 and 62 of 2025; verified)
• No global separation share for europium in the USGS summaries.

Praseodymium

Dopant of Pr:Y2SiO5 memories. EU list: light rare earth elements; rare earth elements for permanent magnets (Nd, Pr, Tb, Dy, Gd, Sm, and Ce) (Annex II, Section 1, point (r); Annex I, Section 1, point (n)).

• No global separation share for praseodymium in the USGS summaries.

Thulium

Dopant of Tm:YAG and Ti:Tm:LiNbO3 memories. EU list: heavy rare earth elements (Annex II, Section 1, point (q)).

• Export control (CN): MOFCOM and GACC Announcement No. 57 of 2025, items 1C909 (holmium) to 1C913 (ytterbium), including 1C910 erbium, 1C911 thulium and 1C912 europium, 2025-10-09; suspended before it took effect: Announcement No. 70 of 2025 suspends it from 7 November 2025 until 10 November 2026; no extension or new decision on mofcom.gov.cn as of 27 October 2026. (Announcement No. 70 of 2025 of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs: suspension of Announcements Nos. 55, 56, 57 and 58 and MOFCOM Announcements Nos. 61 and 62 of 2025; verified)
• No global separation share for thulium in the USGS summaries.

Rare earths (all, mine production)

Context for the dopants and hosts above: mined rare-earth concentrates. EU list: heavy rare earth elements; light rare earth elements; rare earth elements for permanent magnets (Annex II, Section 1, points (q) and (r); Annex I, Section 1, point (n)).

• The USGS estimates 2025 world rare-earth mine production at 390,000 tons of rare-earth oxide, of which 270,000 tons in China. (Official estimate; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths, World Mine Production and Reserves, table)
• China's share of 2025 world rare-earth mine production computed from these USGS estimates is 69%; this is mine output, not refining. (Computed by the portal; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths, World Mine Production and Reserves, table (270,000 / 390,000))
• The USGS reports that China's April 2025 rare-earth export controls remained in effect at the end of 2025. The October 2025 additions (MOFCOM Announcement No. 57, covering holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium) were suspended by Announcement No. 70 until 10 November 2026 (read on mofcom.gov.cn on 27 October 2026; to be rechecked after that date). (Official statistic; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths, Events, Trends, and Issues)
• USGS gives mine production by country, not separation or refining shares.

Helium-3

Working fluid of dilution refrigerators, needed by memories that run below 1 K. EU list: helium (Annex II, Section 1, point (p)).

• The USGS estimates world helium-3 production at 40,000 litres in both 2024 and 2025, mostly from Canada, Russia and the United States. (Official estimate; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Helium and rare gases, World Production and Reserves)
• The USGS reports U.S. helium-3 production at one location in South Carolina from tritium decay, used mainly for neutron detectors, research and quantum computing. (Official statistic; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Helium and rare gases, Domestic Production and Use)
• Helium-3 comes from tritium decay, not refining; production by country is not quantified by the USGS.

Standards

The tracker holds no item that specifies quantum-memory performance; the items linked are the network, QKD-component and committee items a memory-based network would sit in, and the two informational IRTF quantum internet RFCs (9340, 9583).

The standards and PQC deadline tracker

Talent and research funding

39 CORDIS projects are classified under the concept’s taxonomy families; the EU contribution of the 39 with a stated amount is EUR 116,489,159 (whole projects, not only their quantum-memory work).

Facts and sources

• [1] The OPS queries of the concept returned 103 patent families; 92 remain after 11 were screened out as false positives. (EPO Open Patent Services, concept queries)
• [2] Applicants based in the United States appear on 29 families of the core, in the United Kingdom on 11, in South Korea on 7 and in Japan on 4. (EPO Open Patent Services, concept queries)
• [3] Applicants based in EU Member States appear on 5 of the 92 families (5.4%). (EPO Open Patent Services, concept queries)
• [4] University of Science and Technology of China holds the most families, 7 in total. (EPO Open Patent Services, concept queries)
• [5] The latest phase, systems and networks from 2019, holds 48 families (52.2% of the core), 6 a year. (EPO Open Patent Services, concept queries)
• [6] 3 families of the core have an EP publication among the documents returned (a lower bound). (EPO Open Patent Services, concept queries)
• [7] Yttrium needs a Chinese export licence under MOFCOM and GACC Announcement No. 18 of 2025, in force since 4 April 2025. (Raw materials file: mofcom-2025-18)
• [8] 10 standards tracker items are linked to the concept as the context a deployment would sit in. (Portal standards and PQC deadline tracker)
• [9] CORDIS lists 39 projects classified under the concept's taxonomy families. (CORDIS (European Commission), portal classification)

Method annex

Concept query as the EPO platform publishes it

Read on 2026-10-25 (verified); recorded exactly, typing included.

(((cl = "H01P7/06" AND (ftxt=("QUANTUM" prox/distance<=3 "STORE*") OR ftxt any "QUBIT, QBIT, QUNATUMBIT" OR ftxt = "QUANTUM BIT") AND (ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "STOR*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "MEMOR*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "SAVE*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "INFORMAT* PROCESS*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "INTERFACE*"))) OR ((cl =/low "G11C13/04" OR cl =/low "G11C13/06") OR ((cl = "B82Y10" OR cl = "H01L39" OR cl = "H01L27/18" OR cl = "G11C13/04" OR cl = "G11C13/06" OR cl = "H01P7/06" OR cl = "G21K1/30") AND (ftxt any "RAREEARTH*" OR ftxt = "RARE EARTH*" OR ftxt any "SCANDIUM* LANTHAN* CERIUM* PRASEODYM* NEODYM* PROMETHIUM* SAMARIUM* EUROPIUM* YTTRIUM* GADOLINIUM* TERBIUM* DYSPROSIUM* HOLMIUM* ERBIUM* THULIUM* YTTERBIUM* LUTETIUM*")))) AND (ftxt=("QUANTUM" prox/distance<=3 "STORE*") OR ftxt=("QUANTUM" prox/distance<=3 "MEMOR*") OR ftxt = "QUANTUM BIT" OR ftxt any "QUBIT QBIT QUANTUMBIT") AND (ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "STOR*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "MEMOR*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "SAVE*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "INFORMAT* PROCESS*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "INTERFACE*"))) OR ((cl = "H01L39" OR cl = "H01L27/18") AND (ftxt=("QUANTUM" prox/distance<=3 "STOR*") OR ftxt=("QUANTUM" prox/distance<=3 "MEMOR*") OR ftxt = "QUANTUM BIT" OR ftxt any "QUBIT QBIT QUANTUMBIT") AND (ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "STOR*") OR ctxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "MEMOR*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "SAVE*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "INFORMAT* PROCESS*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "INTERFACE*") OR ftxt=("QUANT* OPTIC*" prox/distance<=9 "STOR*") OR ftxt=("QUANT* OPTIC*" prox/distance<=9 "MEMOR*") OR ftxt=("QUANT* OPTIC*" prox/distance<=9 "SAVE*") OR ftxt=("QUANT* OPTIC*" prox/distance<=9 "INFORMAT*") OR ftxt=("QUANT* OPTIC*" prox/distance<=9 "INTERFACE*"))) OR (((cl =/low "G21K1/30" OR (cl = "B82Y10" OR cl = "H01L39" OR cl = "H01L27/18" OR cl =/low "G11C13/04" OR cl =/low "G11C13/06" OR cl = "H01P7/06" OR cl = "G21K01/006")) AND (ftxt=("DIAMOND*" prox/distance<=4 "DOPED") OR ftxt=("DIAMOND*" prox/distance<=4 "DOPANT?") OR ftxt=("DIAMOND*" prox/distance<=4 "IMPUR*") OR ftxt=("DIAMOND*" prox/distance<=4 "ADDITI*") OR ftxt=("DIAMOND*" prox/distance<=4 "DEFECT*") OR ftxt=("DIAMOND*" prox/distance<=4 "VACANC*") OR ftxt=("DIAMOND*" prox/distance<=4 "VACANT*") OR ftxt=("DIAMOND*" prox/distance<=4 "COLOR*") OR ftxt=("DIAMOND*" prox/distance<=4 "COLOUR*"))) AND (ftxt=("QUANTUM" prox/distance<=3 "STOR*") OR ftxt=("QUANTUM" prox/distance<=3 "MEMOR*") OR ftxt = "QUANTUM BIT" OR ftxt any "QUBIT QBIT QUANTUMBIT") AND (ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "STOR*") OR ctxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "MEMOR*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "SAVE*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "INFORMAT* PROCESS*") OR ftxt=("PHOTON*" prox/distance<=9 "INTERFACE*") OR ftxt=("QUANT* OPTIC*" prox/distance<=9 "STOR*") OR ftxt=("QUANT* OPTIC*" prox/distance<=9 "MEMOR*") OR ftxt=("QUANT* OPTIC*" prox/distance<=9 "SAVE*") OR ftxt=("QUANT* OPTIC*" prox/distance<=9 "INFORMAT*") OR ftxt=("QUANT* OPTIC*" prox/distance<=9 "INTERFACE*")))

• Recorded exactly as the platform publishes it, typing included: QUNATUMBIT in the first branch, ctxt (claims text) instead of ftxt in three proximity terms, and G21K01/006 written with a leading zero.
• H01L39 and H01L27/18 no longer exist in the CPC scheme 2026.08 (moved to H10N 60/00 superconducting devices and H10N 69/00 integrated superconducting devices); G21K 1/006 is not in the scheme either (atom traps are now G21K 1/30, ion traps G21K 1/20).

Equivalent EPO OPS queries

EPO OPS has no full-text or claims search, so each branch of the platform query is approximated by CPC groups (current scheme) and title-or-abstract (ta) terms, split into small queries whose families are merged by DOCDB family id. The queries run on the portal's server through its EPO OPS connection (OPS 3.2 CQL); each query shows its status and the date it was last read, and a query OPS refuses is recorded as an error on the site health page and skipped.

• optical: Optical memory classes with a quantum term
  (cpc=/low "G11C13/04" or cpc=/low "G11C13/06") and ta any "quantum qubit qubits"
• rare-earth: Concept classes with a rare-earth dopant named
  (cpc=/low "H01P7/06" or cpc=/low "B82Y10" or cpc=/low "H10N60" or cpc=/low "G21K1/30") and ta=quantum and ta any "erbium europium praseodymium thulium yttrium"
• superconducting: Superconducting devices (former H01L39 and H01L27/18) with memory and photon terms
  (cpc=/low "H10N60" or cpc=/low "H10N69") and ta any "qubit quantum" and ta any "memory storage" and ta any "photon photonic optical"
• diamond: Concept classes with diamond and a storage term
  (cpc=/low "G21K1/30" or cpc=/low "B82Y10" or cpc=/low "H01P7/06" or cpc=/low "G11C13/04") and ta=diamond and ta=quantum and ta any "memory memories storage storing"
• photonic-storage: Nanotechnology and cavity classes naming quantum memory or storage
  (cpc=/low "B82Y10" or cpc=/low "H01P7/06") and ta any "photon photons photonic" and (ta="quantum memory" or ta="quantum storage")

Gaps against the platform query:

• Full-text and claims terms of the platform query are replaced by title-or-abstract terms: families that name quantum storage only in the description or claims are missed, and the proximity conditions become plain co-occurrence.
• The reclassified groups are searched under their current symbols (H10N 60, H10N 69, G21K 1/30); the platform query still names the old symbols.
• EP-member presence is counted on the publications the queries return, a lower bound: a family whose EP member does not itself match is counted without one.

Screening, applicants, nationality, phases, domains and breadth

• False-positive rules, editor-reviewable. A family is screened out when its title matches an exclusion pattern and has no quantum term, or when none of its CPC classes is a quantum class and its title has no quantum term. Editors keep or exclude a family by its DOCDB family id; their lists win.
• Normalisation: legal form and punctuation removed (LegalName), then these editor-reviewable aliases (normalised name keys); natural persons are never stored (PatentFamilies::parties). Nationality: the applicant's country of residence in DOCDB, else the code in brackets after the name, else the country of the linked portal organisation (CORDIS, GLEIF), else unknown.
• Three contiguous phases of the annual series of families by earliest priority year, with the two boundaries that minimise the squared deviation of each year from its phase mean (optimal segmentation, each phase at least three years); the last two priority years are incomplete (18-month publication delay) and join the last phase without moving the boundaries.
• Domains are assigned by CPC prefixes and title terms (several per family); a family matching none goes to the last domain.
• For an applicant with n families: IPC density = distinct IPC subclasses / sqrt(n); CPC density = distinct CPC subclasses / sqrt(n); domain coverage = domains with at least one family / number of domains; balance = 1 - HHI of the applicant's domain assignments. Each component is min-max normalised to 0-100 across the leading applicants; breadth is their mean. Above 66: platform-oriented; 33 to 66: diversified; below 33: focused.

Supply chain and index (restricted results)

• Stages are graded per bloc (Europe, with the United Kingdom and Switzerland flagged; the United States; China) as controls, partial, absent or not assessed, from editor-confirmed evidence only: controls needs a share figure or documented dependence of buyers outside the bloc; partial needs commercial production; research, pilots or a recorded search give absent.
• Patents never support an industrial claim; location and ownership are recorded separately; company disclosures, official statistics, analyst estimates and computed figures are kept apart and estimates are never graded; one standard of proof for every bloc, with grades resting only on low-quality evidence flagged rather than lowered.
• Indicative industrial strength index = 0.40 x industrial capability + 0.30 x patent strength + 0.15 x technology breadth + 0.15 x talent and R&D, each 0-100 from portal data only. It is shown with its components, sorted by name, never as a ranking, and it understates actors outside Europe because the portal holds mainly European funding and facility data.

Scope and exclusions

Optical quantum memories for quantum-network repeaters at device level (rare-earth-doped crystals, colour centres, atomic ensembles) and the inputs they need, as the EPO concept defines them.

• Classical optical, magnetic and phase-change data storage.
• Quantum key distribution systems that use no memory (concept A3).
• Superconducting microwave memories inside quantum processors are counted in the patent landscape when the query reaches them, but not in the supply-chain stages.

Sources and terms

• EPO Open Patent Services: patent bibliographic data under the OPS terms and conditions (derived counts shown, the data as such not redistributed).
• EPO Quantum technologies platform page: the concept definition and query, cited with their address.
• Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 (Critical Raw Materials Act), Annex I Section 1 and Annex II Section 1 (Official Journal of the European Union): EUR-Lex reuse policy (Commission Decision 2011/833/EU): reuse authorised with acknowledgement of the source
• Study on the critical raw materials for the EU 2023, final report (grouping of heavy and light rare earth elements) (European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs): Commission reuse policy (Decision 2011/833/EU), CC BY 4.0
• Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Yttrium (U.S. Geological Survey): U.S. public domain (USGS information policy); citation requested
• Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths (U.S. Geological Survey): U.S. public domain (USGS information policy); citation requested
• Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths (heavy) (U.S. Geological Survey): U.S. public domain (USGS information policy); citation requested
• Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Helium and rare gases (U.S. Geological Survey): U.S. public domain (USGS information policy); citation requested
• Announcement No. 18 of 2025 of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs: export control on some medium and heavy rare earth related items (Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (official English version)): Official government document, cited for facts only; no text reproduced beyond item numbers
• Announcement No. 57 of 2025 of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs: export control on some medium and heavy rare earth related items (Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (Chinese version)): Official government document, cited for facts only; no text reproduced beyond item numbers
• Announcement No. 70 of 2025 of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs: suspension of Announcements Nos. 55, 56, 57 and 58 and MOFCOM Announcements Nos. 61 and 62 of 2025 (Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (Chinese version)): Official government document, cited for facts only