Spain has taken important steps in the last two years to strengthen its position in the quantum fieldwith the integration of quantum technologies into their national recovery and resilience plans. This in a context in which according to the latest study by the European Patent Office and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the ecosystem of quantum technologies is growing rapidly.
It has more startups dedicated to them, and an increase in investment and innovation. However, quantum technologies continue to face problems related mainly to their scaling and commercialization.
The report, as part of the biennial work plan of the EPO Patent and Technology Observatory, provides an analysis of the quantum ecosystem, analyzing patent activity, investments, training, the supply chain and public policies.
According to the study, the number of international patent families in quantum technologies has multiplied by five in the last decade. The report identifies three major subsectors: quantum communication, quantum computing (including simulation technologies) and quantum sensing.
Quantum communication concentrated the largest number of patents in quantum technologies until 2022. But the one that has experienced the greatest growth is quantum computing, since it has grown about 60 times since 2005.
From 2005 to 2024, Spain has registered 67 international patent families in quantum technologies. In addition, it has 2.7% of companies with purely quantum activities, according to the study, and concentrates 0.9% of the funds allocated to this type of companies. There are currently 36 quantum companies in Spain, of which 21 are dedicated only to the quantum sector.
The Government, with the aim of strengthening the national quantum ecosystem, as well as preparing society for the changes that quantum technologies will entail, launched the first Spanish Quantum Technologies Strategy in April 2025, with a budget of 808 million euros. These funds come mainly from the FEDER Funds and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. In addition, they have the potential to mobilize up to 1.5 billion euros if additional public and private investments are added.
In line with this strategy, the Council of Ministers approved the Royal Decree creating the Quantum Communications Center, which is responsible for bringing together the main Spanish public actors in quantum communications, as well as consolidating a research, development and implementation network.
This initiative foresees notable investments in key scientific institutions, such as the Institute of Photonic Sciences of Catalonia, to which more than 2.4 million euros will be allocated, as well as the Quantum Information and Communications Group of the Polytechnic University of Madrid, which will receive more than 1.4 million euros. In addition, the Donostia International Physics Center Foundation will receive 930,000 euros, and the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, 480,000 euros.
Quantum technologies in the world
The United States is the country that has generated the most international quantum patent families between 2005 and 2024 (9,740 have been created worldwide). They are followed by Europe, Japan, China and South Korea. Within Europe, the top three countries in number of quantum patents are Germany, the United Kingdom and France.
Various startups related to quantum technologies have also been created in Europe, such as the French C12 and Pasqal, which the report registers as case studies, although many have complications in financing and scaling.
Currently, the quantum ecosystem has more than 4,500 companies, of which just under 20%, close to a thousand, have quantum as their main activity. These companies, mostly startups, depend above all on initial investment and public funds.
The remaining 80% of these companies, which do not have quantum as their main activity, nevertheless concentrate the majority of patents in this field, in addition to concentrating the creation of more jobs and having a better positioning for the commercialization of quantum technologies.
Even so, Europe has one of the densest sets of companies dedicated only to quantum worldwide, with percentages of almost 40% in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands or France. Meanwhile, in the United States, the proportion of companies focused only on quantum is almost half: 20%. This is because in the country there is a greater presence of technological giants that distribute their activity in different fields of technology, in addition to quantum.
Los top five patent applicants for quantum technologies in 2005 and 2024 of the world were IBM, LG, Toshiba, Intel y Microsoft. There are also several European companies among the main applicants for this type of patents, especially in computing and sensors, such as IQM Quantum Computers y Robert Bosch.
Four of the five universities that have the most quantum patents are American, with MIT and Harvard leading the way. The CNRS is the only European public institution ranked among the top 20 patent applicants in this field.
The study also reflects that collaboration between public research centers, startups and large companies is increasingly important in quantum technologies. The sector also has to face different challenges, such as the increasing concentration and dependence on global supply chains for critical components. In addition, quantum companies must ensure both the availability of highly trained technical personnel and the integration of transversal skills that are needed to facilitate commercialization.
