Quantum technologies are no longer a distant scientific challenge. They are becoming a strategic test of whether Europe can translate excellent research into industrial leadership.
A new joint study by the EPO and the OECD maps the global quantum ecosystem with unprecedented depth. Its message is both encouraging and cautionary. Innovation is accelerating fast but progress is uneven across technologies, countries and stages of maturity. Over the past two decades, international patenting activity in quantum technologies has increased sevenfold, placing the field among the most dynamic areas of innovation worldwide.
This surge was initially led by quantum communication, in particular through quantum key distribution. More recently, however, quantum computing — including simulation — has emerged as the fastest-growing segment, while quantum sensing continues to expand steadily. This rapid growth masks an important structural reality: quantum technologies remain early-stage and experimental. Multiple hardware platforms, from superconducting circuits and trapped ions to photonic systems and solid-state defects, are being developed in parallel. None has yet emerged as a dominant standard. This diversity accelerates learning, but it also prolongs uncertainty, complicating investment decisions and slowing the path to large-scale deployment.
Europe enters this phase with clear strengths. It hosts a dense network of research organisations, universities and start-ups active in quantum technologies. European applicants account for a significant and growing share of high-quality international patents, signalling technological capability and strategic intent.
Mario Draghi’s landmark report on The future of European competitiveness identified quantum technology as a strategic priority and opportunity for Europe’s industrial competitiveness and technological sovereignty. Quantum has implications for cybersecurity, secure communications, energy, sensing/navigation, defence applications and advanced industrial computing. Therefore, leadership in this area not only has economic, but also geopolitical implications.
As the EPO-OECD study underlines, quantum technology remains at its core a distinctive type of technology, as it does not extend to every conceivable task, but can provide targeted advantages in specific contexts. Examples of this are secure key distributions, modelling of quantum systems, complex optimisation problems, or ultra‑precise measurement of time, magnetic fields or inertial forces. In foreseeable applications, quantum technology is to complement classical technology, as opposed to replace it.
Yet the study also highlights a persistent imbalance. While Europe’s quantum start-ups are numerous and scientifically strong, they attract substantially less late-stage private investment than their counterparts in the United States. This gap cannot be explained by innovation output alone. It reflects deeper ecosystem factors — from market scale and financing structures to the availability of pathways for scaling deep-tech firms.
Large, diversified companies play a crucial role in this landscape. Although only a small share of firms can be classified as ‘core’ quantum companies, established players account for most patenting activity and are best positioned to integrate quantum solutions into existing value chains once technologies mature. The balance between these actors varies widely across countries, shaping national trajectories from research to market.
Investment trends reinforce this picture. After rapid growth up to 2021, global investment in quantum firms has stabilised, with smaller average deal sizes reflecting broader economic conditions. In Europe, public funding therefore remains essential, but not sufficient. Policies focused primarily on research and development must increasingly be complemented by measures that support adoption, industrial integration and demand creation.
Quantum technologies will not replace classical systems wholesale. Their strength lies in delivering targeted advantages: secure key distribution, modelling complex quantum systems (including energy systems), solving specific optimisation problems and enabling ultra-precise measurement. In these niches, the gains can be transformative, but only if innovation can move beyond the laboratory. The EPO supports policymakers and innovators with its studies and practical tools, including a quantum technology platform that simplifies navigation of patent data, and the Deep Tech Finder, which helps connect quantum startups and investors.
The ecosystem mapped in this study shows that Europe is not starting from behind. It does, however, underscore a familiar challenge: excellence in science does not automatically translate into leadership in markets. Bridging that gap will be decisive — not only for quantum technologies, but for Europe’s capacity to turn deep-tech innovation into lasting economic strength.
