The physicist Ignacio Cirac was one of the three scientists who proposed the creation of the Munich Quantum Valley to the governments of Bavaria and Germany and one of those who designed the strategy to turn the Munich region into a leader in quantum technologies. Catalonia now has a project to create the Mediterranean Quantum Valley, inspired by the Munich model.
Cirac, director of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching and president of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Castelldefels, attended La Vanguardia before speaking at the presentation of a monograph from the IDEES magazine of the Center of Studies of Contemporary Themes dedicated to the second quantum revolution. “We want Catalonia to become a pole of quantum technology”, declared the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Meritxell Serret, at the event, held on February 12 in La Pedrera.
What are Catalonia’s strong points for the Quantum Valley to be a success?
Catalonia has very good basic science in quantum technologies at the university and in research centers. And it combines it with a business and entrepreneur ecosystem. It is a very special situation to be able to bet on quantum technologies.
And the weak points?
Firstly, budgets are usually much more modest here than in other countries. And secondly, there is no large industry, like in Germany, interested in quantum technologies, that wants students trained in this area and absorbs them. But as a whole Catalonia is in a good position.
What benefits would betting on a Quantum Valley bring to Catalonia?
In the short term, the attraction of talent, especially students and entrepreneurs. In the long term, if quantum technologies emerge as we hope, they would be at the forefront of being able to be used economically and socially. We are talking about new companies, more competitive existing companies, jobs…
Is quantum physics already mature to contribute to this economic development or is it still in a basic research phase?
There is a part that is already advanced enough to give rise to industrial applications. But there is another part that is not so advanced and that still needs a lot of research so that we can take advantage of it.
What is the most advanced part that can already give rise to applications?
Technologies related to quantum sensors, what is called quantum metrology, and to some extent also quantum communications.
What does a quantum sensor measure?
It can measure very weak signals that other sensors are not capable of measuring. For example, electric fields, magnetic fields, temperatures in very special places. Inside a cell you can measure the temperature of the electric field and obtain information about how cells behave or what happens to them when we act on them.
Any other example?
A quantum sensor can detect changes in gravitational fields that allow us to see what is happening beneath the earth. It can tell us if there is water, if the water moves, if there may be oil, without having to dig very deep wells, simply with very good sensors.
And what is the technology that needs more research to reach industrial applications?
Especially quantum computing, which is in its infancy. We have prototypes of quantum computers, but they still do not get all the benefits we want them to get. And we know very few applications of quantum computing. There are very few problems where quantum computing gives us a big advantage over the supercomputers we already have.
How will all this affect citizens? Will it mainly serve to boost the economy or will it have an impact on people’s daily lives?
As with all technologies, when they emerge, impacts are created over time. At first the impact is indirect. For example, if better sensors are built, maybe it will have some benefit in medical technologies. We don’t see it directly, but we can take advantage of it. In the longer term, we expect these technologies to affect us more directly. But it is impossible to predict how and when. When there is a technological disruption, the most important applications are always undiscovered.
Could quantum technologies bear fruit in something as disruptive as the Internet has been with electronic technologies?
I think so. But if he asks me what it will bear fruit for, I can’t answer him. If you had asked me eighty years ago, when the first computers were built, what they were going to be used for, I would not have gotten it right.
From your experience with the Munich Quantum Valley, what does it take for a project of this type to succeed?
First of all, let there be a seed. That is, science is being done and there is education so that entrepreneurs and people who work in the industry emerge. Secondly, the support of governments. And thirdly, the support of society, which has to do with the fact that it is something important for the future and in which it is advisable to invest. If these three elements are put together, and the infrastructure that already exists here is added, and the attractiveness of Barcelona is taken into account, Catalonia is an excellent place to bet on quantum technologies.
What investment does the Munich Quantum Valley have?
In Munich we have 300 million euros from the Bavarian government for five years and the German government contributes another 200 million. Then there are the investments that do not come from governments, but from companies and universities.
The Quantum Valley of Catalonia will hardly have 500 million to start with.
To start well you need a minimum. I don’t know if it will be 10, 30 or 50 million. But what is important is conviction, the long-term vision, having the patience necessary to wait for the fruits to come out. This is a new technology, everything is to be discovered. There are competitors all over the world and it is something that has to be considered in the long term.
How long will it take to start seeing results that justify a large investment?
More than ten years from now to start making profits with respect to what has been invested. But the investment that is made now is made in education, in talent, in patents, in creating new companies that then perhaps end up doing something other than quantum technologies. It is an investment to be in the front row and to be prepared. And over time this will give many benefits.
Are there other cities and countries, apart from Munich, competing to be at the forefront of quantum technologies?
Delft, in Holland, is a very clear example. The United Kingdom has a quantum technologies initiative for which it has just approved 500 million pounds with hubs in Oxford, Cambridge and other cities. Austria also has a program of excellence in quantum technologies…
And outside Europe?
The United States, of course, is at the same level as Europe in public financing, or a little above, and has an industry that invests more than here, and which also has more investment in technological risk capital.
¿China?
The exact numbers are not known, but they are probably an order of magnitude higher than what we are investing in Europe.
Would Catalonia need to create new research centers specialized in quantum to play in this league?
We must strengthen the existing ones, and also promote the transfer of technology to the industry. If there is a center that is already transferring technology, such as the ICFO, promote it. And some centers that do engineering can dedicate efforts to quantum technologies.
Who should lead, the government, industry or the scientific community?
In Munich, the Bavarian government is the one that created the Quantum Valley. The industry participates by helping in specific projects that interest it. They have helped us a lot, and they have put pressure on the regional government and the federal government, BMW, Infinitum, Siemens, SAP, Bosch, BASF, Merck… We scientists took the initiative to go see the Bavarian government and explain the importance that it could have become a European valley of quantum technologies. And there is a scientific director who is responsible for ensuring that everything moves forward and the objectives are met.
Could a collaboration between Munich and Catalonia be considered in this area?
I think so. For example, the ICFO is very strong in quantum cryptography and quantum communication technologies. We also work in these areas and we could do joint projects. But this would have to be done not only on a scientific level but also on a political level. The governments of Catalonia and Bavaria should talk and see what possibilities there are.
