SPINUS Month 12 Meeting: A year of progress and what’s on the Horizon (Europe)
February 25, 2025SPINUS consortium gathered on February 18-19, 2025 for its yearly meeting, in Trento, Italy, hosted by Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK). The project partners met to review the achievements of the first year and align for the upcoming period. Across two days of fruitful discussions, each Work Package (WP) representative reported on key milestones, achievements, challenges, and next steps.
SPINUS also underwent its first External Advisory Board review to steer the project strategically from lab to market. The two-day meeting was concluded with a Quantum Technologies Networking Event reuniting the SPINUS consortium, external parties, and guest speakers from the University of Trento, University of Turin, National Research Council of Italy, and TNO Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research.
Here are SPINUS Work Package highlights so far:
WP1 – Tools for Initialization, Readout & Control | Matthias Müller, FZJ
Advancing spin control and readout capabilities
Controlled phase gates and nitrogen polarization with PulsePol are ongoing. Work on carbon spin polarization and large spin registers is underway, with models being developed. Also, the first technical project Deliverable on Polarization Sequences was completed and submitted to the European Commission.
WP2 – Materials Development | Jawad Ul-Hassan, ULIU
Pushing the limits of diamond growth
Isotopically pure and engineered 4H-28Si12C layers were grown with good quality on c-plane and a-plane substrates. Graphene growth was successful on Si-face and C-face substrates. Doping levels were estimated, and progress was made on phosphorus doping and improving NV yield with sulfur.
WP3 – Quantum Simulation Platforms | Tim Taminiau, TUDELFT
Laying the groundwork for scalable quantum simulations
Optimal control sequences for decoherence and Hamiltonian engineering have been implemented. A dissipative phase transition was demonstrated, and readout analysis of a 2D spin lattice was completed. Control and readout of 40 spin qubits were started, with Floquet sequence simulations in progress.
WP4 – Quantum Computation Platform | Abhisek Shukla, UHASSELT
Bringing quantum computation closer to real-world applications
High-fidelity gates were achieved in a two-qubit system, and a theoretical framework for DDRF gates was derived. Quantum control of 15N spins in NV-NV diamond pairs was demonstrated, and two-qubit gates between NV and 13C were numerically simulated. There is extensive collaborative work for the design of the first SEBAT Single-Electron Bipolar Avalanche Transistor device.
WP5 – Quantum Advantage | Orsolya Kálmán, Wigner RCP
Exploring the frontiers of quantum performance
Simulations of 2D systems were done with tensor networks, then benchmarked on Rydberg atom arrays and Chiral spin liquids. A quantum register based on NV centers in diamond was benchmarked and its performance was estimated.
WP6 – Communication, Dissemination & Exploitation | Stefania Pavel, AMI
Boosting SPINUS visibility across the quantum ecosystem
The project was particularly visible at EQTC 2024 (Lisbon, Portugal) and SPIE-Quantum West 2025 (San Francisco, USA), reinforcing its position in the European and global quantum landscape. Also, the publication notice procedure was optimized to ensure a better overview of the publications prepared by the partners. SPINUS already boasts a strong record of eight publications.
WP7 – Project Management | Martin Koppenhöfer, IAF
Consolidating the foundation for better collaboration
With the Month 12 Periodic activity and management report completed, SPINUS is now preparing for the Periodic Reporting at Month 18 and the first Review with the European Commission. To improve project implementation, new efficiency measures were introduced, including a simplified reporting process and bi-monthly scientific updates during Project Steering Committee calls.
What’s next for SPINUS?
The next six months will be pivotal as we will be preparing the Month 18 Periodic Report, followed by the first European Commission Review. Key technical advancements will continue, with a strong focus on cross-WP collaboration. Looking ahead, we anticipate deeper engagement with European quantum initiatives like QuIC and QUCATS, as well as potential synergies with the upcoming Quantum Pilot Lines within Chips Joint Undertaking.
External Advisory Board (EAB) Meeting: Strengthening our strategy
The Month 12 meeting also marked the first EAB meeting. Reunited in hybrid mode, SPINUS partners received guidance from the five reputable members making up its EAB. Discussions covered the robustness of our technical roadmap, upcoming deliverables, and future opportunities, even after the completion of the project. The feedback was welcome in refining our next steps and ensuring SPINUS remains aligned with both research and industry needs.
Quantum Technologies Networking Session: Diamond at the Heart of European Innovation
SPINUS consortium also co-organised a networking event, emphasising the role of diamond as a key platform for European quantum technologies. The session showcased synergies between multiple EU-funded projects, highlighting how advancements in diamond-based materials, qubit control, and quantum devices are shaping the future of quantum computing, sensing, and communication.
With a solid (state) first year behind us, SPINUS is set to accelerate progress and reinforce its impact on the European quantum ecosystem. Stay tuned for more updates!