Quantum Application Development Enters a New Stage for QAL Consortium Members

As of 1 August 2026, the QAL collaboration will come to an end following the completion of the term of the agreement between the participating organizations. This planned conclusion of their collaboration was jointly announced on 6 May by the QAL consortium partners. CWI is one of the founding partners of the Quantum Application Lab.

QAL was initiated in October 2021 with a Memorandum of Understanding / Letter of Commitment between six Dutch organizations, aiming to bring together industry and research to explore early applications of quantum computing. On 23 March 2022, this collaboration was formalized through the signing of a cooperation agreement.

Since then, multiple projects have been carried out with partners across different sectors, including organizations willing to take a leading role in the early stages of quantum application development. A first showcase was hosted during the 1-year anniversary in 2023.

These activities resulted in new insights and project outcomes related to quantum computing applications. In 2024, progress and results were discussed during the mid-term review of Quantum Delta NL (QDNL). More recently, project results have also been highlighted in the FD Special on quantum technology, including use cases with organizations such as Air France-KLM and Alliander.

During the International Year of Quantum in 2025, a final collaboration with the World Food Programme was started, with the first results to be shared soon.

The decision to not renew the collaboration agreement reflects a mutual understanding of the evolving priorities of each organization and the current landscape for quantum applications. The former parties to the QAL cooperation agreement each continue on their path towards developing useful quantum computing applications.

TNO expands its efforts in developing end-user driven applications with the TNO QAL Facility. CWI and UvA continue their ongoing collaboration in frontier research in quantum software, quantum information and quantum computing at QuSoft. SURF works towards hosting their own quantum computer and integrating its capabilities with their other high-performance computing services. Quantum Inspire retains its ambition to host open-access quantum computing-in-the-cloud for the Netherlands, welcoming application research in collaboration with other quantum researchers at TU Delft. And the Netherlands eScience Center focuses on its core practice of developing high-level research software for the Ditch academic community.