The Swedish Quantum Innovation Competition

Swedish industry needs to act in the ongoing quantum race. It is time for a new Swedish quantum innovation competition. Here, the Swedish quantum technology ecosystem gets a brand new opportunity to further its advances within this exciting field.   

The innovation competition is built upon four pre-defined challenges, whose solution does not exist in today available technology and where quantum technology can be a viable solution. The competition is arranged by QSIP and financed by Vinnova. The prize sum is SEK 1,5 million, going to up to 5 winners in order to fund development of the purposed solutions.  If you have a quantum innovation that addresses one of the challenges, you should definitely take the chance to submit your solution to us before the competition closes on January 14^th. More about the challenges, information about who can participate, and the rules of the competition can be find further down on this site. 

With this innovation competition, together with other activities, QSIP aims to act as a catalyst for collaboration between need owners and solution providers and thus support the development of successful Swedish use cases.  

The final of the competition will be held at the Nordic venture capital forum GoWest in Göteborg on January 29^th at 12.30-14.00, where the finalists will have the chance to pitch their idea in front of the jury.  

Challenges 

The competing contributions in the innovation competition are expected to describe new solutions based on or enabling quantum technology for use cases* in the following areas: 

• Diagnostics and health monitoring.  The solutions can be intended/applied for people, machines, devices, components, vehicles, batteries, industrial processes, systems, etc. 

• (Updated) Route planning & logistics optimization. The solutions can be intended for transportation applications but also for other logistics-related applications such as staff and client planning and scheduling. Other type of complex optimizations challenges, for battery technologies, drug discovery, development of new materials etc is also included. 

• Quantum-safe (cyber-secure) data communication. The solutions should address use case(s) in key sectors of society such as healthcare, energy, telecom and finance. 

• Cost and climate effective quantum computing. The solutions should address problems related to how a quantum computer can be operated in a more sustainable way. 

* use case = a specific situation or application in which a technology or solution could potentially be used 

The proposed solutions should have potential to provide significant benefits to industry/society compared to present solutions. 

It is important that the competing contributions describe what sector(s) and use case(s) they address, and what benefits the solutions may provide.  

How to participate 

1. Choose one of the challenges above which you intend to address with your solution.  

2. Use the application form below to describe your solution and how it will address the challenge 

3. Send your application to Jon Wingborg at jon.wingborg@chalmersindustriteknik.se  or 0704-360704 no later than 16.00 on January 14^th. 

Please submit your application form in English. If selected as an finalist, also the pitch shall be given in English. 

Important dates 

December 4^th: Registration opens 

January 14^th: Last day to submit your application, no later than 16.00 

January 22^nd: Information to participants regarding which innovations that is selected for the final at GoWest 

January 29^th: Final of the innovation competition at GoWest 

January 30^th: The winners are announced at GoWest 

February 1^st: The winning projects can start 

February 28^th: Last day to start project 

October 31^st: Last day to end projects 

Who can participate? 

The competition is open for companies, research institutes, universities, or other legal
entities operating in Sweden and who wants to develop their quantum innovation. 

Assessment criterias

For all criterias below, the propals will be judge on how well they describe and convince the judges on the different statements.

Relevance

• That the development is dependent on technical and scientific breakthroughs. 

• That the application matches selected challenges. 

Potential

• That the innovation will contribute to decisive benefit for the need owner.

• That development is based on knowledge and technology assets that are unique and give the innovator a head start. 

Actors

• That the team has the competence and commitment to the operational activities required to succeed. 

• That the project constellation is composed with regard to gender distribution, including the distribution of influence between women and men. 

Feasibility 

• That the step taken for the innovation project is important for upcoming stages and the innovations development. 

• That the implementation of the project is credible and relevant. 

Jury 

The jury who assesses the competition entries consists of: 

• Elisabeth Österlund, Svensk Elektronik 
• Beatriz Grafulla, Ericsson
• Lorenzo Roversi, IonQ
• Mikael Rönnholm, AB Volvo
• Miroslav Dobsicek, Chalmers Next Labs
• Terje Nilse, Kongsberg Discovery
• David Storek, Chalmers Ventures

Winners  

Up to 5 innovations will be named winners. The winners selected are entitled to funding if they meet Vinnova’s requirements for financing.  

The winners will have the opportunity to explain in detail via the application/project plan how they will use the funding, and what activities they plan to take when bringing their idea to the next development stage. 

All entries will be considered 

All entries that have been submitted to the competition will be offered a follow-up meeting with QSIPs program office to jointly find new opportunities for development, collaborations and financing. 

How much support can be given to an organization? 

The maximum allowable aid of minor importance is EUR 300,000 per beneficiary during the last three tax years. In order to calculate the maximum allowable aid, all grants granted under the Minority Aid Regulation must be aggregated. In this calculation, contributions to other parts of the Group should also be taken into account. More information is available here. 

Travel grants for those who advance to the final  

Do you need a travel grant for your trip to the finals? Contact Jon Wingborg at jon.wingborg@chalmersindustriteknik.se for more information. Please note that it is not possible to apply for travel grants afterwards or against payment of receipts.