Sparrow Quantum is one of 13 companies selected for funding under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking's Quantum Grand Challenge, an EU programme created to accelerate the development of market-ready quantum-computing platforms. Sparrow Quantum is the only Danish company selected.
Founded to make high-quality deterministic quantum light — photonic qubits — available outside the laboratory, Sparrow Quantum has spent years on the source itself. As the performance and reliability of that technology improve, the challenge moves downstream: to what happens to photons after they leave the source and are integrated into larger systems.
"Being selected alongside Europe's leading quantum companies is a proud moment for the team," said Peter Lodahl, founder and Chief Quantum Officer at Sparrow Quantum. "We founded Sparrow to make the supply of quantum light dependable. EU-SCALE gives us the opportunity to build on that progress and take on the system architecture around the source — the part of the problem I have long wanted Sparrow to tackle."
Through EU-SCALE, Sparrow Quantum will develop the technical and financial roadmap for integrating its proprietary deterministic photon-generating chips into a larger photonic quantum-computing system. The project will explore a resource-optimized architecture built around those chips and compatible with European high-performance computing infrastructure.
The Quantum Grand Challenge is designed to move European quantum startups toward commercial viability: Phase 1 funds the roadmap and commercialisation case, and Phase 2 opens a route to venture debt financing from the European Investment Bank.
The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking's Governing Board approved the list of proposals selected for funding on 19 June 2026 (Decision No. 31/2026). Thirty proposals were received by the call deadline. Twenty-seven met the admissibility and eligibility requirements. A panel of independent experts evaluated them, with thirteen retained for funding on the main list and three placed on a reserve list.
EU-SCALE, Sparrow Quantum's project under the Grand Challenge, will receive €300,000 in EU funding once the grant agreement — currently in preparation — is signed.
The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) is a legal and funding entity that brings together the European Union and participating countries to pool resources and make Europe a world leader in supercomputing. It has procured 12 supercomputers across Europe, including JUPITER and Alice Recoque, Europe's first exascale systems, and is currently overseeing the implementation of 19 AI factories complemented by 13 AI Factory Antennas.
The JU also funds research and innovation projects across the European supercomputing supply chain, from processors and software to applications and the expertise needed to develop them. It is jointly funded by its members with a budget of at least EUR 8.2 billion for the period 2021–2027, with the EU contribution matched by a similar amount from the participating countries.
