Coordinate deployment for the EuroQCI (CSA)

This EU funding opportunity falls under the Digital Europe Programme, specifically concerning the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) through the call identified as DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI. The funding is designed to support the establishment and coordination of EuroQCI networks across EU Member States. It includes three main topics: DIGITAL-SME Digital SME Support Actions with a total budget of 30 million EUR, and two DIGITAL-CSA Coordination and Support Actions, each with a budget of 3 million EUR. This represents a total funding allocation of 36 million EUR for the initiative.

Eligible applicants typically include research institutes, universities, and other organizations involved in quantum communication and digital infrastructure. Geographic eligibility is focused on EU Member States and associated countries. The objective is to ensure coherent progress in deploying and operationalizing EuroQCI, facilitating collaboration among stakeholders to achieve objectives related to secure connectivity. This involves activities such as standardization, sharing best practices, and aligning policies within the sector.

The call is open for submissions through a single-stage process, with the anticipated opening date set for July 15, 2025, and a submission deadline of October 16, 2025. The process indicates a low success rate for applicants, as multiple proposals are expected but only limited funding will be awarded.

In terms of deliverables, the program seeks to generate comprehensive analyses of existing deployments, support discussions for future phases, and contribute to establishing a pioneering quantum communication ecosystem within Europe. Applicants are encouraged to engage in activities that align with the initiative's goals, including fostering dialogues between national and cross-border projects and providing recommendations for technological advancements.

Participants are urged to review detailed guidelines and conditions outlined in the call documents, which include information on eligibility, application procedures, evaluation criteria, and co-funding requirements. Overall, the initiative aims to fortify Europe’s position in quantum technology through enhanced collaboration and development within the sector.

This EU funding opportunity is part of the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) and is specifically under the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) call (DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI). The call includes multiple topics, each with its own budget and focus. The type of action for topics DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-02 and DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-03 is DIGITAL-CSA DIGITAL Coordination and Support Actions. The type of action for topic DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-01 is DIGITAL-SME Digital SME Support Actions. The type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG]. The deadline model is single-stage. The planned opening date for the call is 15 July 2025, and the deadline date is 16 October 2025 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The overall objective of this call is to ensure a coherent EuroQCI initiative and support the Commission, ESA, and Member States by providing key support functions in coordination, industrialisation, dissemination, and alignment. This will enable national and cross-border EuroQCI networks to discuss progress, identify and utilize synergies, share best practices and information about EU components and their certifications, support QKD standardisation efforts, and coordinate overall progress towards a fully functional EuroQCI.

The scope of the call includes facilitating connections and dialogue between national and cross-border EuroQCI projects, supporting discussions on user requirements and use cases, standardisation, and return of experience from the deployment of advanced national quantum systems and networks, including on EU QKD components and systems. It also involves providing support to the Commission, Member States, and other stakeholders in the deployment of EuroQCI, producing a consolidated overview of the deployment of EuroQCI in Member States, and creating a catalogue of approaches and technologies implemented in national EuroQCI projects. Further, it includes coordinating inputs to support discussions and decisions on the further development of national and cross-border deployment plans and strategic efforts, with a view to achieving an overall EuroQCI system (space and terrestrial segments), coordinating activities for developing an EU QKD ecosystem and the industrialisation of QKD devices in the EU, and organising outreach events and activities, preparing communication materials, promoting the EuroQCI initiative, and ensuring interactions with other relevant initiatives.

The expected outcomes and deliverables include an assessment of the deployments of EuroQCI networks and systems for the operational phase of EuroQCI, a consolidated analysis of national and cross-border deployments identifying complementary activities (including technology developments) required to establish a complete EuroQCI system, recommendations for the next phases of the operational and security-compliant pan-European EuroQCI networks, and a contribution to a technologically autonomous European quantum communication ecosystem.

The conditions for this call include:

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout, described in section 5 of the call document and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible Countries, described in section 6 of the call document.
3. Other Eligible Conditions, described in section 6 of the call document.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion, described in section 7 of the call document.
5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes, described in section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual.
5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds, described in section 9 of the call document.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement, described in section 4 of the call document.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants, described in section 10 of the call document.

The call document and annexes include the call document itself, application form templates (standard application form available in the Submission System), a detailed budget table (available in the Submission System), the EU secure connectivity programme (2023-2027), the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The budget overview for the call is as follows:

DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-01 - DIGITAL-SME Digital SME Support Actions: 30,000,000 EUR, single-stage, opening date 2025-07-15, deadline 2025-10-16, indicative number of grants: 5
DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-02 - DIGITAL-CSA DIGITAL Coordination and Support Actions: 3,000,000 EUR, single-stage, opening date 2025-07-15, deadline 2025-10-16, indicative number of grants: 1
DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-03 - DIGITAL-CSA DIGITAL Coordination and Support Actions: 3,000,000 EUR, single-stage, opening date 2025-07-15, deadline 2025-10-16, indicative number of grants: 1

There is a partner search function available on the Funding & Tenders Portal, where LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests. The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.

For help related to this call, applicants can contact the provided link. Additional resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, the IT Helpdesk, and the Online Manual.

In summary, this funding opportunity aims to bolster the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) by fostering collaboration, standardisation, and industrialisation within the quantum communication domain. It seeks to create a secure and technologically autonomous quantum communication ecosystem across Europe, involving both terrestrial and space-based segments. The call encourages projects that facilitate dialogue between national initiatives, support the deployment of quantum technologies, and contribute to the development of EU-made QKD components. The funding is divided into different topics, targeting both SMEs and coordination/support actions, with a total budget of 36 million EUR. The call is a single-stage process, with a deadline for submissions on October 16, 2025.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, given the nature of the call, it is likely that eligible applicants include entities such as research institutes, universities, large enterprises, SMEs, and other organizations involved in quantum communication and digital infrastructure. The mention of "LEARs, Account Administrators or self-registrants" suggests that registered entities within the EU's Funding & Tenders Portal are eligible.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a DIGITAL Action Grant Budget-Based [DIGITAL-AG]. The call is for DIGITAL Coordination and Support Actions (DIGITAL-CSA) and DIGITAL SME Support Actions (DIGITAL-SME).

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required. However, the objective of coordinating national and cross-border EuroQCI networks suggests that a consortium approach may be beneficial or even necessary for certain topics, especially those involving coordination and support actions. The partner search announcements also indicate that collaboration is encouraged.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is likely focused on EU Member States, given the call's objective to support the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) and the involvement of the Commission and Member States. The EU secure connectivity programme (2023-2027) is listed as an additional document, which further suggests a focus on EU entities.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is quantum communication, specifically the development and deployment of the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI). This includes related areas such as digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, quantum key distribution (QKD), and the industrialization of quantum technologies. The call also targets SMEs through the DIGITAL-SME Digital SME Support Actions topic.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the call explicitly refers to EU Member States as key stakeholders and beneficiaries. The initiative is focused on establishing a pan-European EuroQCI network, implying that the geographic scope is the European Union.

Project Stage: The project stage appears to be focused on the deployment and operational phases of EuroQCI, as well as coordination and support activities. The call aims to assess existing deployments, identify complementary activities, and provide recommendations for future phases. This suggests a focus on projects that are in the development, validation, demonstration, or early commercialization stages.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary by topic:
DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-01 (DIGITAL-SME): €30,000,000
DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-02 (DIGITAL-CSA): €3,000,000
DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-03 (DIGITAL-CSA): €3,000,000

Application Type: The application type is an open call, with a single-stage submission process. The submission system is planned to be opened on July 15, 2025, and the deadline for submissions is October 16, 2025.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants to support their projects. The grants are intended to fund coordination, support, and deployment activities related to the EuroQCI initiative.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage, as indicated by the "single-stage" designation for each topic.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned. However, the indicative number of grants provides some insight:
DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-01: 5 grants
DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-02: 1 grant
DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI-03: 1 grant
Given the funding amounts and the number of grants, the success rate is likely to be in the 10 to 39% range or lower, depending on the number of applications received.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. This information would likely be detailed in the call document.

Summary:
This funding opportunity is part of the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) and focuses on the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI). The call, DIGITAL-IRIS2-2025-QCI, aims to support the deployment and coordination of EuroQCI networks across EU Member States. The primary objective is to ensure a coherent EuroQCI initiative by supporting the Commission, ESA, and Member States in coordination, industrialization, dissemination, and alignment efforts. This includes facilitating dialogue between national and cross-border projects, providing support to stakeholders, producing overviews of EuroQCI deployments, coordinating inputs for strategic development, fostering an EU QKD ecosystem, and organizing outreach activities.

The call includes three specific topics: DIGITAL-SME Digital SME Support Actions, and two DIGITAL-CSA DIGITAL Coordination and Support Actions. The funding amounts vary, with €30 million allocated to SME support actions and €3 million each for the coordination and support actions. The application process is a single-stage submission, with the submission system opening on July 15, 2025, and the deadline for submissions on October 16, 2025.

Eligible applicants are likely to include research institutes, universities, large enterprises, SMEs, and other organizations involved in quantum communication and digital infrastructure. The geographic focus is on EU Member States. The expected outcomes include assessments of EuroQCI deployments, consolidated analyses of national and cross-border activities, recommendations for future phases, and contributions to a technologically autonomous European quantum communication ecosystem.

Applicants should carefully review the call document and related annexes, including the EU secure connectivity programme (2023-2027), EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, to ensure compliance with all requirements and guidelines. The call seeks to advance the development and deployment of quantum communication technologies across Europe, enhancing secure connectivity and fostering a competitive EU quantum industry.