The QScale project is set to open up unprecedented opportunities in quantum computing
Tampere University is a partner in the QScale research consortium, which has a total budget of €5 million. The University’s share amounts to approximately €1.6 million.
Current quantum computers typically comprise tens or hundreds of qubits (quantum bits) that are used to perform computations. However, quantum technologies are not expected to reach their full transformative potential until these systems are scaled up to a million qubits.
The QScale project, which will be launched in September 2026, addresses one of the key challenges limiting the scalability of quantum technologies: the control of quantum computers. Qubits operate at extremely low temperatures and are currently controlled via electrical cabling, which radiates heat into the ultra-cold environment. This thermal noise increases energy consumption to such an extent that a million-qubit quantum computer could require energy comparable to the output of a nuclear power plant.
Due to the thermal load generated by quantum computers, increasing their performance is not currently feasible.
“If we can overcome this bottleneck, quantum computing can genuinely transition from the experimental stage to industrial-scale applications and enable breakthroughs in diverse fields, such as medicine, materials science, optimisation and artificial intelligence,” says Associate Professor Jukka Viheriälä, who leads the QScale project at Tampere University.
Ultrafast data transmission using light
The researchers aim to replace the current electrical cabling, which contributes to thermal load and increased costs, with an ultrafast optical technology that enables light‑based data transmission and generates highly precise control signals for quantum devices.
“Achieving this requires the development of new components as well as system-level solutions,” says Viheriälä.
According to Viheriälä, QScale will establish new expertise in Finland and lay the foundation for an industrially viable technology platform at the intersection of radiofrequency engineering, photonics, superconductivity, packaging technologies and cryogenics.
Tampere University develops high-frequency signal technologies
Within the QScale project, researchers at Tampere University will develop methods and components for generating high-frequency microwave signals, which are used to control qubits in a quantum computer. They will also develop advanced quantum packaging technologies.
Tampere University’s role also includes building the ecosystem connections and expertise required for the QScale project. The University’s ongoing research projects focusing on chip and semiconductor technologies – including the System-in-Package Fabrication (SiPFAB) pilot line, the Tampere Chip Characterisation Infrastructure (ChipIn) and the System-on-Chip (SoC) Hub – will support subsequent piloting, product development and industrial deployment.
The project will also benefit from the University’s micro- and nanofabrication facilities, national research infrastructures (FUWIRI, PII, FinnLight) and doctoral programmes coordinated by Tampere University (I‑DEEP, MIELi).
The QScale research project
The project titled “Scaling up quantum computing by telecom-based technologies” (QScale) has received three-year funding from Business Finland under the Rise to the Challenge programme.
The project is coordinated by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, with Tampere University and Aalto University as consortium partners.
The first phase of the project will run from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2029.
Additional funding may be awarded subject to successful progress. A potential two-year extension phase, which would also involve Finnish industry partners, would begin in September 2029.
