BBVA, Repsol and 11 other entities create a consortium in Spain to investigate quantum computing
(FiveDays) A total of 13 Spanish entities, including companies such as BBVA and Repsol and institutions such as the Higher Center for Scientific Research (CSIC), have launched the CUCO project to investigate the use of quantum computing and its application to five strategic industries of the Spanish economy: energy, finance, space, defense and logistics.
The consortium is made up of seven companies (Amatech, BBVA, DAS Photonics, GMV, the Basque startup Multiverse computing , Repsol and Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech, a spin-off of the University of Barcelona, the High Energy Physics Institute and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center ), which have the support of five research centers (BSC, CSIC, DIPC, ICFO and Tecnalia), and a public university (Universitat Politècnica de València).
The entities highlight that CUCO, subsidized by the CDTI and supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, “is the first major quantum computing project at a national and business level” and they clarify that its objective is “progress in the scientific and technological knowledge of quantum computing algorithms through public-private collaboration between companies, research centers and universities to accelerate the implementation of these technologies for use in the medium term”.
The consortium will identify use cases for proof of concept to see if quantum computing can improve the performance of classical computing to meet business needs, and propose metrics. Specifically, they explain, they will investigate use cases in Earth observation, the fight against climate change and the environment, the traceability of information in supply chains, the optimization and simulation of complex financial calculations and signal intelligence, among others.
