Spain has added a third quantum supercomputer to the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, a €9.8 million investment aimed at accelerating research and artificial intelligence. The new machine, built by local firm Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech, is an analog quantum computer-distinct from its digital predecessors.
Quantum computing leverages qubits, which can represent both 0 and 1 simultaneously, enabling far more powerful algorithms to solve complex problems beyond classical computers' reach.
The system, housed in the historic Torre Girona chapel, is part of the MareNostrum Ona partition. The first two quantum machines have already logged 4,200 computing hours across 53 research projects.
Funded by the European Commission and Spain’s digitalization secretariat, this computer joins the EuroHPC network. Three of six EuroHPC quantum systems are now operational across Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany.
Catalan Minister Núria Montserrat emphasized that the project reinforces European technological sovereignty, reducing reliance on US big tech and producing homegrown infrastructure.