The project

MILLENION is a European collaboration of 14 academic and industrial partners which aims to bring trapped-ion quantum computers from the laboratory to industrial applications.

Within this project, leading science teams setting up the quantum computers based on trapped ions are join forces with commercial leaders in the field of laser technology, optical design, cryogenic technology, control electronics and computer architectures, in order to realise the first scalable quantum computer that is capable of controlling 1000 qubits.

MILLENION is building on the success of its predecessor programme AQTION that laid the groundwork by conceptualising, designing, building, and operating the world’s first quantum computer entirely contained in industry-standard 19” server racks.

MILLENION will maintain European leadership in the quantum information industry, and further deepen the strength of the quantum technology and innovation within Europe of the strategic objectives of the FET Quantum Technologies Flagship.

Funding programme TBD
Project duration TBD
Project budget TBD
Coordinator Dr. Thomas Monz, Universtität Innsbruck

MILLENION in the European quantum ecosystem

MILLENION and its team are proud to be widely connected within the European quantum ecosystem, both academically and throughout the emerging quantum industry. MILLENION will foster collaboration and innovation by making use of these connections with regional, national, and international partners.

… the emerging European quantum industry by providing both academic expertise and commercial products for its experimental and theoretical needs. Recognising this, MILLENION has garnered the expressed support of European industrial stakeholders in quantum technologies such as Airbus, Bosch, Covestro (Bayer), and the Quantum Industry Consortium.

… into Quantum Technology Flagship proposals such as the successor of “PASQuanS” (control of ion-trap devices), “QuClock” (control of ion clocks), “QIA” (control of an ion trap-based quantum network nodes), quantERA projects “NImSoQ” (imaging and control systems), “NEASQC” (software and applications), “SIQC” (creation of low-cost segmented 1D quantum processors), “QuantumGuide” (contamination free atomic sources for AMO devices), “EryQUSenS”, the EU Pathfinder project “BRISQ” (aiming at Rydberg-based quantum computing with trapped ions) as well as national or regional quantum projects such as “IQUAN”, “EVAQS”, “TRAPS”, “VERTICONS”, “HFAK”, “ATIQ”, “QVLS-Q1”, “QRydDemo”, “FermiQP”, “MIQRO”, “MUNIQC”, “DAQC”, “Q-Exa” and the “MQV” in Germany, the “Quantum Austria” initiative in Austria. Beyond these activities within the consortium, MILLENION is committed to support the quantum software activities announced in the parallel call on quantum software development for the development of a European quantum ecosystem. Here, the consortia of “Quantum Software Factory”, “QUALGREEN”, “QCFD” and “QOOLKIT”. MILLENION has provided formal support to collaborate in the future for mutual benefits in co-design between system specifications and end-user requirements.

Our vision

MILLENION aims to build a scalable quantum computer based on trapped ions that will push European quantum computing capabilities to industrial relevance by providing well-controlled registers up to 1000 qubits by the end of the decade.

Our vision
  • MILLENION’s devices will feature processor register sizes too large to describe on even supercomputers, will be integrated into classical High-Performance Computing hardware centres and interconnect different processors locally through ion transport and remotely via a quantum a quantum network.

  • The AQTION project has demonstrated that it is possible to shrink a trapped-ion quantum computer the size of a laboratory down to just two industry-standard 19” server racks. At the same time, we showed that this miniaturisation and modularisation does not have to come at the cost of performance.

  • MILLENION’s mission is now to take the next big step in this progression: Realising a scalable architecture, multi-node and multi-processor computers connected locally or remotely, and protect its quantum information via quantum error correction. MILLENION systems will transfer large-scale ion-trap quantum computing from the laboratory into a commercial environment in which applications can be devised and implemented by non-specialist users through the proposed interfaces.

Our mission

MILLENION’s mission is to demonstrate a scalable, modular trapped-ion quantum computer with 100 qubits extendable to 1000 by the end of the decade. We will realise a quantum computing demonstrator

Our mission

  • that is based on scalable ion traps, building upon modular fabrication processes and integrated control electronics and optics,

  • that is controlled by a holistic firmware stack, spanning the entire range from the quantum processor to standardised interfaces and software development kits,

  • whose operations are characterised and continuously monitored, using scalable verification and validation procedures,

  • that is able to routinely operate within the quantum advantage regime – providing computational capabilities that go beyond classical computing power, and

  • that is accessible for collaborations and use-cases via the cloud, and is integrated in high-performance computing (HPC) facilities or data centres for executing hybrid computing algorithms.

Within the flagship ramp-up project AQTION, members of MILLENION have successfully worked together and realised the first 19’’-rack-mounted quantum computing prototype capable of working with up to 50 qubits and pioneered a software stack with connection to HPC. We will now exploit the acquired expertise and developed technologies to take a step forward, and push towards a scalable 1000-qubit device.

MILLENION will actively push towards the commercialisation of the developed technologies including ion traps, integrated waveguides, integrated electronics, lasers systems, and control systems. The consortium will work with partners throughout Europe to develop a quantum firmware stack, including the HPC integration and cloud access, that can facilitate software-as-a-service solutions.

Our approach to scalable quantum computing

Scaling quantum computers from small devices of academic relevance to large, end-user-centric computers of industrial relevance requires overcoming countless challenges. Innovative ideas are thus key to progress towards MILLENION’s ultimate goal. The scaling strategy pursued by MILLENION is threefold: Scaling up, scaling down, and scaling out.

MILLENION will scale up the number of qubits with the goal of controlling 1000 qubits in a fault-tolerant manner – both by improving the intrinsic fidelities of quantum operations below the necessary thresholds, and through the use of fault-tolerant quantum circuit design principles.

MILLENION will scale down the quantum processor footprint by adopting fabrication processes that are reproducible and modular, including the direct integration of fibre optics and electronics using techniques adapted from the semiconductor industry.

MILLENION will scale out by ion-transport operations, and by preparing interfaces to connect different processors, both within a vacuum chamber (multi-core processors) and between individual devices (following design principles of HPC clusters).
Integrated optics for light-matter interactions on chip
Integrated optics for light-matter interactions on chip
Integrated optics for light-matter interactions on chip
3D microstructured trap design using selective laser etching
Integrated optics for light-matter interactions on chip

The diverse expertise gathered in MILLENION will be able to tackle the many challenges across the quantum computing stack and actively shape the development of the quantum ecosystem within Europe, exploiting the synergies that only be achieved by close connection and a common goal.